Seven Days, April 8, 2020

BUDGET BUSTED

Virus sinks state finances

VE RMO NT ’S IN DEPE NDEN T VO IC E APRIL 8-15, 2020 VOL.25 NO.28 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

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MONEY ISSUE

INSIDE!

Kids VT April issue

WAIT FOR IT

PAGE 18

Aid for self-employed is weeks off

MINDING MONEY

PAGE 38

Therapists ease financial angst

be well–stay safe This is how we love each other now — Closing down until at least May Keeping six feet between us COLORFUL Washing our hands and what we touch constantly TABLE LINENS Not touching our faces BENNINGTON

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We are all Vermonters, and we will get through this together.

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STAY HOME, SAVE LIVES Everyone can help stop the spread of COVID-19 BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Do

Don’t

Stay at home Only leave for essentials Practice social distancing Check in on loved ones by phone Exercise outdoors

Gather with friends or family Leave home unless essential Invite people over Host play dates for kids

Open

Closed

Essential businesses only Grocery stores and restaurants (for takeout and delivery) Pharmacies Critical manufacturing

Non-essential in-person businesses Close contact businesses (spas, salons, barbers, etc.)

Concerts, sporting events, festivals, etc.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE FOR MORE INFORMATION: Health: healthvermont.gov/COVID19 Dial 2-1-1 coronavirus.gov Employment: labor.vermont.gov Financial: accd.vermont.gov/covid-19 Mental Health: Available 24/7 - Crisis line: text VT to 741741 The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 AT 800-273-8255 Dial 2-1-1 to find mental health services in your area Vermont Peer Support Line – open 3 PM-6 AM - Call or text 833-888-2557 4

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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WEEK IN REVIEW

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APRIL 1-8, 2020 COMPILED BY GILLIAN ENGLISH, SASHA GOLDSTEIN & MATTHEW ROY

COLD CASE FILE

DREAMSTIME

Authorities recently identified a 1969 murder victim found in New Hampshire as a Vermont man.

Winston “Skip” Morris had been shot six times in the head.

400

That’s how many beds are in a new, overflow hospital at the Champlain Valley Exposition.

It’s one of several medical surge facilities the Vermont National Guard is building.

TOPFIVE

MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON SEVENDAYSVT.COM

RUSH HOUR

SURREAL CITY

In a speech that was equal parts sobering and uplifting, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger focused his State of the City address Monday night on the Queen City’s new normal in the age of the coronavirus.

Weinberger spoke to Burlingtonians from his office via Zoom. During a meeting known traditionally for its collegial atmosphere, filled with handshaking and backpatting, the mayor sat alone at a table in what made for a stark and surreal scene. City councilors, newly elected and incumbents alike, were sworn in via video from the comfort of their homes.

While such annual speeches generally contain the line, “The state of the city is strong,” Weinberger tweaked his to reflect current events, saying instead, “The state of the city is a state of emergency.”

“Tonight, we believe we are approaching the crest of the public health emergency,” Weinberger said, referring to the approaching surge in COVID-19 cases. In the previous 19 days, he said, nine Burlington residents had died and dozens more had become ill.

“At the same time,” Weinberger continued, “it is clear today that, thanks to the commitment and effort of the overwhelming majority of Burlington citizens and Chittenden County residents, we are succeeding in flattening the curve.”

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COURTESY OF JESSICA PIERCE-LAROSE

Laura Hale

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Weinberger also reflected on the collaborative effort to relocate guests from Burlington’s low-barrier homeless shelter to campers at North Beach, and he praised doctors and nurses on the front lines of the battle against the virus.

The mayor also touted the city’s new COVID-19 Resource & Recovery Center, which has already processed 200 requests for help since opening on March 23. And he described a community program that enlisted numerous organizations to distribute face masks “to all of the essential workers who want them as soon as possible.”

He discussed a new Burlington Green Stimulus Package intended to boost the city economy, and he ended with a note of gratitude, reflecting on Burlingtonians’ small gestures of hope during a time of immeasurable change.

“Burlington continues to be a place where we leave chalk messages of greeting on the sidewalk for our neighbors walking by, where we volunteer to deliver meals to the front doors of seniors and where, quite simply, we look out for each other,” he said. “I know that we will get through these weeks and months ahead the same way we’ve gotten through the past few: together.”

Read Courtney Lamdin’s full report, and keep up with Vermont’s breaking coronavirus news, at sevendaysvt.com.

Vermont is tracking the traffic flowing across state borders. The surveillance comes after Gov. Phil Scott ordered outof-state visitors to quarantine for 14 days.

PASS OR FAIL

Eighteen Vermont school districts have yet to approve a budget, a process now made more difficult by the pandemic. A lesson in procrastination.

LOCKED AND LOADED

Vermont considers gun shops essential and will allow them to remain open during the stay-at-home order. Because shooting the virus will work, right?

1. “Burlington Police to Ticket People Who Violate Stay-at-Home Order” by Derek Brouwer. Residents who flout the statewide stay-at-home order could get slapped with a fine.

2. “Officials: VT’s Virus Projections Show ‘Glimmer of Hope’ as Peak Approaches” by Courtney Lamdin. According to state modeling data, Vermont’s coronavirus cases will peak in late April or early May. 3. “Flake News: Vermont Site Features Coronavirus Conspiracy Theorist” by Matthew Roy. Conservative Vermont website True North Reports published a video with some shocking claims from a YouTuber.

4. “At Least Three Dozen Vermont Health Care Workers Have Coronavirus” by Derek Brouwer.

The March 31 tally included 22 hospital employees across four counties and 14 infected staffers at Burlington Health & Rehabilitation Center.

5. “‘It’s Real’: A Franklin County Teacher Recounts Her Battle With Coronavirus”

by Courtney Lamdin. A St. Albans Town Educational Center teacher urges Vermonters to stay home.

tweet of the week @honeystaysuper HA HA thought for sure today was Friday I am *loving* this What Day Of The Week Is It roulette! Literally haven’t guessed correctly once!

Always a surprise!

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WHAT’S WEIRD IN VERMONT

DOING GOOD DEEDS While Burlington’s COVID-19 Resource & Recovery Center is connecting Queen City residents with resources to help them through the coronavirus crisis, one Burlington woman is using her nonprofit organization to help them pay their utility bills.

Laura Hale has harnessed the power of her 501c3, the ONE Good Deed Fund, to raise nearly $24,000 and distribute more than $18,000. Hale created the fund in 2014 and named it for her neighborhood, Burlington’s Old North End. It allocated grants of $100 for people who wanted to do a good deed for a neighbor, or $250 for a community-wide project.

But last month, Hale quickly recognized the economic devastation the crisis was creating. She consulted with her board members and changed the organizational structure so she can issue grants to people in need.

“More than half of the folks who have gotten in touch have just recently lost work for the first time,” Hale said. “These are not folks who’ve generally navigated the unemployment systems before. A lot of folks had two or three jobs … and just pieced it together.”

An application asks how the person has been impacted by the crisis, how much they need and how they want to receive the grant. Hale can’t distribute cash, so she writes checks directly to utility companies or landlords, or she buys gift certificates

at grocery stores. Applicants must live in Burlington and can receive one grant of up to $100.

Hale opened the COVID-19 Relief program on March 18 and started with about $3,500.

“That went in four days,” she said. “That was a shock.”

Nearly 200 people have received grants from money contributed by about 140 donors. New applications keep coming in each day — and could for a while.

“When I came up with this idea six years ago, it never in a million years occurred to me that I would be giving out relief grants in a pandemic,” Hale said. But, she added, “When unprecedented things happen, you step up however you can.”

SASHA GOLDSTEIN SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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STILL MAKING CENTS. founders/Coeditors Pamela Polston, Paula Routly publisher Paula Routly deputy publisher Cathy Resmer AssoCiAte publishers

Don Eggert, Pamela Polston, Colby Roberts

NEWS & POLITICS editor Matthew Roy deputy editor Sasha Goldstein Consulting editor Candace Page stAff writers Derek Brouwer, Colin Flanders,

Paul Heintz, Courtney Lamdin, Kevin McCallum, Molly Walsh

ARTS & LIFE editor Pamela Polston AssoCiAte editor Margot Harrison AssistAnt editors Dan Bolles, Elizabeth M. Seyler MusiC editor Jordan Adams CAlendAr writer Kristen Ravin speCiAlty publiCAtions MAnAger Carolyn Fox stAff writers Jordan Barry, Chelsea Edgar,

Margaret Grayson, Ken Picard, Sally Pollak

proofreAders Carolyn Fox, Elizabeth M. Seyler AssistAnt proofreAders Katherine Isaacs,

Marisa Keller

D I G I TA L & V I D E O dAtA editor Andrea Suozzo digitAl produCtion speCiAlist Bryan Parmelee senior MultiMediA produCer Eva Sollberger MultiMediA journAlist James Buck AudienCe engAgeMent speCiAlist Gillian English All our heArts CoordinAtor Mary Hamilton DESIGN CreAtive direCtor Don Eggert Art direCtor Rev. Diane Sullivan produCtion MAnAger John James designers Jeff Baron, Kirsten Thompson, Mollie Coons SALES & MARKETING direCtor of sAles Colby Roberts senior ACCount exeCutive Michael Bradshaw ACCount exeCutives Robyn Birgisson,

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DISCLOSURE: Seven Days publisher and coeditor Paula Routly is the domestic partner of Vermont Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe. Routly abstains from involvement in the newspaper’s Statehouse and state political coverage. Find our conflict of interest policy here: sevendaysvt.com/disclosure.

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FEEDback READER REACTION TO RECENT ARTICLES

CORRECTION

Last week’s cover story, “Oh, the Humanities,” stated that the staff of Vermont Humanities is entirely white. In fact, eight of its nine employees are white.

SUPPORT SEVEN DAYS

I want to encourage all Seven Days readers to please support this beloved resource.

The Waterbury Record has already folded.

Others may follow. Democracy needs quality, local, reliable news, and Seven Days is an essential player here in Vermont. Please donate today. Any amount helps keep the lights on and meet the payroll. Become a Super Reader!

Suzie McCoy

HINESBURG

LEARNING NEW TRICKS

[Re Off Message: “Scott: Students to Stay Home for Remainder of the School Year,” March 26]: We are grateful to our state partners who recognize the critical importance of childcare for the health of children, families and the economy. Thank you for continuing to pay childcare tuition subsidies, helping private-pay families to maintain enrollment, helping both homeand center-based programs to survive, and beginning to build the strong infrastructure of care we will need when community members are able to return to work.

We are very proud that Vermont is the first state nationally to put such comprehensive measures in place.

We are grateful for the children and parents of our programs graciously staying at home, helping to slow the spread of the virus. Thank you for your flexibility with technology, for being part of our remote community and continuing to be filled with the joy of learning.

We thank our colleagues who are supporting children of pandemic responders in their programs. What a hard and compassionate balance you have found, and what solace you bring to those families.

We are grateful to our staff members, who have adapted quickly and creatively to the demands of remote learning.

We are grateful to our wider community, which is working in myriad ways to keep us safe, healthy and hopeful. We are grateful to our state and local leaders, all working tirelessly to provide accurate information and guidance.

WEEK IN REVIEW

PLANE LOGIC

TIM NEWCOMB

[Re Off Message: “Pandemic Grounds Some Commercial Flights, but F-35s Continue to Prowl Skies,” April 3]: Imagine if, instead of the F-35 mission, the Vermont Air National Guard mission were a medical one. They could be collecting and distributing much-needed equipment and supplies and actually doing some good at this time. There would also be more jobs for VTANG! Instead, they are blasting the skies, wasting millions and billions of tax dollars that are needed for this crisis. Every time I hear those planes these days, it makes my blood boil. I cannot adequately express my anger and rage at the politicians who made the F-35 boondoggle happen and continue to support it and the systems that allowed it.

Deb Bouton

BURLINGTON

We give thanks for the mutual aid, health teams, food deliveries, support services, online access to the arts, and the knowledge that we are in this together.

Kathryn Torres NEW HAVEN

picture. Let’s not be like President Donald Trump, telling the “little people” to wear masks but eschewing them for himself because he’s too important. Vermont officials: Put on your masks, at news conferences, out on the street. Let’s show the way.

Barbara Morrow

SUTTON

GLORIFYING GRAFFITI?

I was very disappointed that Seven Days choose to glorify graffiti vandals by centering a photo of graffiti on last week’s front page. This is an illegal activity being glamorized by an otherwise esteemed media outlet. Burlington is witnessing the proliferation of graffiti throughout our downtown. Burlington police officers have told me that there are no meaningful consequences in place to help put a stop to this behavior. Nor, it seems, is there the political will to help prevent this vandalism. It defaces our community and gives a sense of lawlessness to our great city.

Perhaps Seven Days will run a story on why we have allowed vandals to run wild, sprawling graffiti on buildings throughout Burlington, from private property and parking garages to churches, city property, signs and Memorial Auditorium.

Let’s hope both the media and city leaders will start to take this problem seriously.

Jeff Nick

SHELBURNE

MASK AT HAND

[Re Off Message: “Health Officials Want Vermonters to Wear Cloth Masks Out in Public,” April 3]: Vermonters would like to see our officials wearing masks. I want to see Gov. Phil Scott wearing one, in a

SERIOUS ABOUT SOCIAL DISTANCING

[Re Off Message: “Burlington to Remove Basketball Hoops, Close Dog Parks,” April 2]: While the measures the City of Burlington is taking to ensure social distancing may seem harsh, they are absolutely necessary.

Every day I have observed the gatherings of people Interim Police Chief Jennifer Morrison mentioned. I would have been one of them, enjoying the bike path down by the lake a few times last and this week.

Director of Public Works Chapin Spencer’s shared streets for social distancing plan is a great idea. It can introduce us to this street model that I predict people will want to keep or expand to other streets after the pandemic is over.

Instead of criticizing China, where the COVID-19 virus began, we should be taking the serious measures they took that got the disease turned around in no time.

Burlington, unlike President Trump, is doing this — and I, for one, support and thank them for these efforts.

Rep. Curt McCormack

BURLINGTON

Democrat McCormack is a state rep from Burlington’s Old North End.

NO COMMENTS: SEVEN DAYS SUSPENDS ONLINE READER REACTIONS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE Since 2014, Seven Days has allowed readers to comment on all stories posted on our website.

While we’ve appreciated the suggestions and insights, the time has come to shut them down — at least temporarily.

While we champion free speech, facts are a matter of life and death during the coronavirus pandemic, and right now Seven Days is prioritizing the production of responsible journalism over moderating online debates between readers. We’ll still be publishing letters to the editor, though. To criticize, correct or praise our reporting, please follow the guidelines below under “Say Something!” Or send us a tip. We’ll check it out and report the results. Online comments may return when we have better tech tools for managing them.

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contents

LOOKING FORWARD

APRIL 8-15, 2020 VOL.25 NO.28

NEWS & POLITICS 11 13

14

From the Publisher Wheel of Misfortune

Money Issue: Financial uncertainty in the time of COVID-19

15

Downgraded

Money Issue: The coronavirus is ravaging Vermont’s state budget

UVM Scientists, Engineers Team Up to Create ‘Vermontilator’

16

BY COURTNEY LAMDIN

BY DAN BOLLES

14

41

Dash for Cash

Money Issue: After stumbles, race begins for federal business relief

BY PAUL HEINTZ

Ghost Planes Haunt Burlington International Airport

Hospital Prepares UVM’s Patrick Gym for Coronavirus Patients

FEATURES 34

BY COURTNEY LAMDIN

18

The Checks Are Not in the Mail

Money Issue: Self-employed Vermonters must wait for federal unemployment benefits

BY DEREK BROUWER

15

46

21

As Markets Dry Up, Some Vermont Dairies Are Dumping Milk

36

Online Thursday

38

Our Money, Ourselves

Money Issue: Financial therapy helps Vermonters cope with a tanking economy

ARTS NEWS 24

BY CHELSEA EDGAR

Page 32

41

Five newish books by Vermont authors

BY PAMELA POLSTON

27

Poetic Reach

28 31 47 50 51 69

Retail Therapy Hackie CULTURE Side Dishes FOOD Soundbites Album Reviews Ask the Reverend ADVICE

SECTIONS 22 46 50 54 55 64 68

Life Lines Food + Drink Music + Nightlife Classes Classifieds + Puzzles Fun Stuff Personals

Altared Plans

A Virtual Welcome

Rick Veitch becomes Vermont’s new cartoonist laureate

COLUMNS + REVIEWS

Money Issue: A pandemic leads to postponed nuptials, and revenue, in Vermont’s wedding industry

BY CHELSEA EDGAR, KRISTEN RAVIN & PAMELA POLSTON

26

Money Shot

Money Issue: Over seven years, photographer Brittany Powell documented the faces of debt

BY MARGARET GRAYSON

BY KEVIN MCCALLUM

VIDEO SERIES

Money Issue: Investment adviser Dan Cunningham offers tips for staying sane in a financial crisis

BY DAN BOLLES

BY COLIN FLANDERS

BY KEVIN MCCALLUM

401 OK?

BUDGET BUSTED

Virus sinks state finances PAGE 14

BY PAMELA POLSTON

46

Farmers Marketing

Food: Vermont-grown produce is a hot commodity in hard times

BY SALLY POLLAK

Major Jackson and colleagues bring verse to a socially distant world

V ER M ONT’S I ND EPE ND EN T V OICE APRIL 8-15, 2020 VOL.25 NO.28 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

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MONEY ISSUE

BY MARGARET GRAYSON

Stuck in Vermont: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vermonters are staying connected and finding ways to keep positive. Musicians are posting performances online, makers are crafting medical supplies and Vergennes residents are hosting a nightly Bang-n-Clang parade.

INSIDE!

SUPPORTED BY:

Kids VT April issue

PAGE 18

Aid for self-employed is weeks off

MINDING MONEY

PAGE 38

Therapists ease financial angst

COVER IMAGE MARC NADEL COVER DESIGN REV. DIANE SULLIVAN

Thank you to all who are keeping our communities running, supporting each other, and spreading love.

After every storm the sun shines brighter than ever, encouraging growth and reminding us of the power of patience.

We’ll get through this together.

Stay safe, stay strong, stay home.

Sometimes all one needs to know is that you are thinking about them. All it takes is a little something. Stay strong, stay healthy.

Jewelry & Gifts

Visit us at: www.greenworksvermont.org Untitled-12 1

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Where we come from

promises matter.

We promise to be your partner in keeping you, your family, and all our associates safe and healthy. Hannaford’s commitment to our communities is strongest when people rely on us the most.

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

APRIL 2020

Make Room for the Kids

VOL .27 NO.3

At 112 pages, this week’s issue of Seven Days is back to its prepandemic size. Not because the crisis is over, but because we’ve inserted the April issue of Kids VT,, our award-winning monthly parenting publication. We made that decision in order to conserve resources — after all, money is the theme of this week’s Seven Days!

And because many of the regular Kids VT drop-off spots — schools, childcare centers and other family-focused venues — are closed.

The combo issue is a sign of the times. Tens of thousands of young Vermonters are suddenly stuck at home with overtaxed parents and caregivers desperate to keep them occupied.

The April 2020 Kids VT will help. It’s full of homeschooling tips and resources, as well as gardening ideas and first-person Educatin g and ente rtaining kid during a global pa s ndemic accounts of parenting through a pandemic. One regular columnist works at a local grocery chain; she shares what life has been like on the front lines. Find an April-showers-themed coloring contest on page 34.

SEC. B This issue of Kids VT also celebrates the 215 young Vermonters who completed the 2019-20 Good Citizen Challenge. The interactive civics project, funded by the Vermont Community Foundation, launched last October and concluded on March 6. Participants completed quizzes and activities in five subject areas: History, Government, Community Engagement, Advocacy and News Literacy.

Though that Challenge is over, a new one begins this week: the Good Citizen Coronavirus Challenge. It invites any K-12 student to complete activities to be entered into a weekly prize drawing. This Challenge will focus on learning history, helping the community and practicing news literacy. Find more info and sign up for email alerts at goodcitizenvt.com.

Meanwhile, Seven Days’ long-scheduled Money Issue has taken on new relevance. Can anyone explain what just happened to our economy? Can it be saved? Seven Days is one of hundreds of thousands of small businesses around the country applying for a loan through the federal Paycheck Protection Program, created by the newly passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. There’s no guarantee that we’ll get it, of course, but we had to try — right, Community Bank? As Vermont’s largest circulation newspaper, we will do everything humanly possible to keep the news coming and our talented staff employed.

Many thanks to the advertisers who are still doing business with Seven Days — and paying their bills — during this crazy time. And we could not be more grateful to the 1,300-plus Super Readers whose donations are paying for everything from reporter salaries to printing and hand sanitizer. If you appreciate our Interested in becoming a Super Reader? efforts, please join them (see right).

Look for the “Give Now” buttons at the top of As we like to say: Seven Days is free; sevendaysvt.com. Or send a check with your making it isn’t. We hope you find this address and contact info to: week’s issue useful, informative and SEVEN DAYS, C/O SUPER READERS entertaining. And, starting this week, look P.O. BOX 1164 for a new, second crossword puzzle — BURLINGTON, VT 05402-1164 sponsored by New England Federal Credit For more information on making a financial Union — on page 51. contribution to Seven Days, please contact Corey Grenier: With appreciation,

Facing a New Reality

1

Paula Routly

BROUGH T TO YOU BY

VOICEMAIL: 802-865-1020, EXT. 36 EMAIL: SUPERREADERS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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Looking to the future.

Since 1968, our family business has been honored to be a part of this caring community. We now stand with the people of Vermont and offer this message of support to all those who are working so hard to navigate this crisis every day!

Stay strong, stay healthy.

3328 Shelburne Rd. | Shelburne, Vermont 05482-6849 | 802.985.8482 | www.theautomaster.com

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MONEY M EY ISSUE

Wheel of Misfortune Financial uncertainty in the time of COVID-19

M

oney is a difficult subject for a lot of people to talk about. Perhaps owing to old-fashioned Yankee modesty, Vermonters in particular tend to get uncomfortable when asked about their finances. That’s true even under ideal circumstances. But what about when things get bad? Like, bad bad? Like, real-life disaster movie bad?

Turns out, global calamity has a way of loosening people up about previously taboo topics, as Seven Days staffers discovered again and again while reporting for our annual Money Issue. Certainly, there’s no shortage of money-related subjects to talk about during a pandemic, even if most of them are, frankly, depressing AF. “Nothing about this is normal,” investment adviser Dan Cunningham told us in what might be the understatement of the year. He’s the founder of One Day in July, an investment advisory company headquartered in Shelburne. Cunningham was referring to the perfect storm of conditions that has led financial markets, and thus your 401k, to crater. He graciously offered a few MIND TRICKS INVESTORS USE TO STAY SANE AMID FINANCIAL MELTDOWNS (PAGE 34).

Granted, the news all over is pretty dire. So, if you need a more holistic and curative approach to money matters, you might schedule an appointment (virtually,

$

of course) with one of VERMONT’S FINANCIAL THERAPISTS (PAGE 38). Like traditional psychotherapists, they can give you tools for building healthier relationships — but with money.

Overcoming the stigma of indebtedness is one thing financial therapists might help you with. That’s familiar territory for Vermont photographer Brittany Powell. After filing for bankruptcy herself, she spent seven years working on THE DEBT PROJECT (PAGE 36), a series of photos and stories of people struggling to make ends meet.

Powell has turned the Debt Project into a book that’s due out this fall. But if she wanted to continue her work, she’d have no trouble finding new subjects to profile.

likely welcome the federal stimulus package, which includes relief for gig economy workers. However, IT’S UNCLEAR WHEN SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS MIGHT ACTUALLY SEE A CHECK (PAGE 18). Equally uncertain is WHICH SMALL BUSINESSES WILL BE GRANTED FEDERAL LOANS AFTER BANKS WERE OVERWHELMED WITH APPLICATIONS (PAGE 15).

On the bright side, RELIEF FUNDS HAVE BEEN ESTAB-

LISHED FOR LOCAL BARTENDERS, BARISTAS AND OTHER FOOD-

SERVICE INDUSTRY WORKERS (PAGE 47). We’ll drink to that, especially since IT’S UNLIKELY WE’LL BE RAISING A GLASS AT A WEDDING ANYTIME SOON (PAGE 41).

DAN BO LLE S

THE CORONAVIRUS HAS ALREADY RAVAGED THE STATE’S ANNUAL BUDGET (PAGE 14), which will

cause headaches and shortfalls for years to come.

Vermont’s growing legion of unemployed workers will

THE MONEY ISSUE State budget busted PAGE 14

The race for small-business loans Self-employed aid is slow to come PAGE 18

Investor tips for staying sane

PAGE 36

Financial therapists PAGE 38

MARC NADEL

PAGE 15

The Debt Project

Wedding industry woes PAGE 41

Relief funds for service industry workers PAGE 47

PAGE 34

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

13

news

MORE INSIDE

BIZ BOOST PAGE 15

HEALTH

PHANTOM FLIERS

UVM Scientists, Engineers Team Up to Create ‘Vermontilator’

SPILLED MILK

PAGE 15

PAGE 21

B Y C OU R T N EY L A M DIN

A team of University of Vermont scientists, engineers and doctors has created an inexpensive and quick-tomanufacture ventilator intended to help patients suffering from serious cases of COVID-19.

The “Vermontilator” is roughly the size of a toaster and weighs about five pounds. Unlike a traditional ventilator — a complex device that can cost more than $25,000 to make — the Vermontilator can be built for a couple hundred bucks with simple, widely available parts. It’s powered by a 12-volt battery.

The coronavirus is ravaging Vermont’s state budget

H

ours after legislators voted to close the Vermont Statehouse last month in the face of the coronavirus outbreak, Rep. Kitty Toll (D-Danville) and fellow members of the House Appropriations Committee toiled into the evening to complete next year’s state budget.

“We were well over 80, 85 percent done,” said Toll, who chairs the committee, “until things started to crumble around us.”

Nearly four weeks later, that budget has become an artifact of history — rendered irrelevant by the pandemic’s ravaging effects on Vermont’s economy and the state’s finances. “We’re going to be starting from the beginning,” Toll said, with resignation in her voice.

Not anytime soon.

Well before Toll and her colleagues reconsider next year’s budget, they’ll have to plug a massive hole in this year’s.

According to the latest projections by the legislature’s Joint Fiscal Office, the crisis has already cost the state $389 million in tax receipts — about 44 percent of what it was expecting to collect by June 30. And because the state is three-quarters of the

way through its current fiscal year, much of that money has already been spent.

The central problem lawmakers face is the uncertainty around how long the public health crisis will last — and, therefore, how long the government will have to enforce social-distancing protocols. Those, while necessary, according to state Finance Commissioner Adam Greshin, are “taking a hatchet to our economy.”

MONEY M EY ISSUE House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) has spent 18 years in the legislature and served on the Appropriations Committee during the last two economic and natural disasters the state faced: the 2008 financial crisis and Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. In her view, neither compares. “This is unlike anything that we’ve experienced before, just because of the number and magnitude of unknowns,” she said.

BY PAU L H E I N T Z

Cutting Checks

One unknown is how much it will cost the state to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

According to Greshin, who serves as Gov. Phil Scott’s chief budget writer, the administration is doing everything it can to protect Vermonters — and that’s an expensive proposition. In recent weeks, Greshin said, the state has spent more than $20 million on ventilators, personal protective equipment for health care providers, emergency housing, medical surge centers and other pressing needs.

That doesn’t even begin to account for costs that are harder to quantify at this stage, such as remote learning at shuttered schools and overtime for public health and safety workers.

“Because the number is so damn variable, anything I say today will be wrong tomorrow,” Greshin said.

The administration is making a “colossal effort” to track every cost for potential reimbursement by the federal government, Greshin said, but all parties seem to agree that bookkeeping shouldn’t get in the way of fighting the outbreak.

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Using determination and a bit of Yankee ingenuity, the team’s goal is to mass-produce the device before the expected surge in coronavirus cases.

“The whole thing is going at a bewildering pace,” said project lead Jason Bates, a lung expert at UVM. “At the same time, we’re trying to get to the finish line for this prototype that can be safe, robust and meet the requirements that gives it a chance at [U.S. Food & Drug Administration] approval.”

In mid-March, Bates sent a sketch of the device to UVM’s IMFLabs. IMF engineer Carl Silver built it overnight using parts he found at home and at the lab.

Typical ventilators can cause portions of the lung to collapse, stick together and peel apart repeatedly, like Velcro, said Bates. That can damage the organ.

By contrast, the Vermontilator uses a technique called airway pressure release ventilation, which keeps the lungs inflated as if the patient were taking a deep breath. The machine expels air regularly, but the patient’s lungs don’t ever collapse, Bates explained.

The FDA recently loosened regulations on medical devices under what’s known as an Emergency Use Authorization. Machines such as the Vermontilator would only be employed if a conventional vent wasn’t available.

“We’re just doing the best we can in an incredibly short time … to see if we can cover those bases as fast as we can,” Bates said.

Contact: courtney@sevendaysvt.com

COURTESY OF IAN THOMAS JANSEN-LONNQUIST

TIM NEWCOMB

Downgraded

Carl Silver

FILE: LUKE AWTRY

TRANSPORTATION

Ghost Planes Haunt Burlington International Airport B Y K EV IN M C C A LLU M

Burlington’s Church Street on a Sunday afternoon in March

Dash for Cash

MONEY M EY ISSUE

After stumbles, race begins for federal business relief B Y DER EK B R O UWER

A

group of college ski bums may have opened Skirack in Burlington on a whim in 1969, but it’s taken smart business instincts to survive the 50 years since. Faced now with an unprecedented public health crisis that has shuttered the outdoor gear store, founder and co-owner Zandy Wheeler knows he needs to navigate with care.

Except that Wheeler will need to throw caution to the wind if his company is to get a share of the $349 billion that Congress has set aside to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. The Paycheck Protection Program launched last Friday, April 3, to a crush of would-be borrowers, forcing business owners to make quick decisions about whether to seek a share of the money.

The program provides loans that will float businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 500 employees for eight weeks. Crucially, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will forgive the loans — as long as 75 percent of the money is used for payroll and borrowers bring back all of their laid-off or furloughed employees

by June 30.

That June deadline has given Wheeler pause. He’s already had to lay off all but 19 of the 90-plus employees at the three stores he now owns: Skirack and Patagonia in downtown Burlington and Vermont Trailwear in Waterbury Center. It’s far

WHILE THE PROGRAM IS NOT SMOOTH BY ANY STRETCH,

IT IS GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN VERMONT. CHR IS TO P H E R D ’ E L IA

from certain that the shops will be able to reopen by June 30, and it’s even less likely that the post-pandemic economy will have fully rebounded by then.

If Wheeler can’t rehire all of his workers by the deadline, how much of his loan would be forgiven?

It’s a question Wheeler hasn’t been able to answer as he weighs the risk of taking on debt while his stores are closed and online

sales are low. But he doesn’t have the luxury of time. The $349 billion spigot is already open, and millions of small businesses across the country are rushing to fill up their bank accounts before the program runs dry.

The federal program began with a chaotic rollout — glitches and other delays in early April hampered some Vermont lenders and frantic businesses that lined up to take part.

It’s too soon to know whether those problems will stop companies from obtaining the help they need. In any case, business advocates say the stopgap program, while providing important financial support, will distribute that support unevenly and leave key Vermont business sectors especially vulnerable in the months ahead.

“It’s like getting two units of blood when you need six,” said Wheeler, who nevertheless decided to apply.

The program is overseen by the U.S. Small Business Administration but relies on private banks to process the loans.

Borrowers complete a short application DASH FOR CASH

After Delta flight 5068 from Detroit pulled up to the gate at Burlington International Airport late Tuesday morning, the 50-seat Bombardier regional jet’s staircase unfolded, and out stepped the passengers — both of them.

The flight was the latest evidence of the near collapse of air travel to the state’s largest airport.

“It was pretty weird,” Zack Maroon said of what was effectively a private jet flight home.

Maroon was the beneficiary of the federal government’s efforts to keep air travel on life support during the pandemic with billions of dollars in subsidies meant to keep airlines flying — whether it makes economic sense or not.

The $2 trillion federal CARES Act stimulus contains at least $60 billion for airlines for servicing a minimum number of routes. Part of the goal is to keep flights serving regional airports like Burlington’s so the airlines don’t consolidate operations at larger hubs, such as Boston, explained Nic Longo, deputy director of aviation at BTV. It has resulted, however, in an increasing number of “ghost” flights that carry very few, if any, passengers, Longo said.

The drop has been precipitous. On April 6, 2019, 1,400 passengers flew out of BTV. On the same date this year, 97 did.

Flightradar24, a service that tracks commercial flights, reported 306 departures from BTV during the week that began on March 8. By this past week, departures had declined by more than 61 percent, to just 118.

The airport had a decade-long high of 705,000 outbound passengers last year. Now, it could lose an estimated $11 million over the next six months.

The airport wasn’t completely dead on Tuesday. As she picked up her luggage at an otherwise empty carousel, Mary Murphy, a nurse from Columbia, S.C., said she had come to Burlington to work for six weeks at a nursing home.

“There were just four of us on a big old plane,” Murphy said of one leg of her trip.

Andrea Suozzo contributed reporting.

Contact: kevin@sevendaysvt.com

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MATTHEW ROY

news BURLINGTON

Hospital Prepares UVM’s Patrick Gym for Coronavirus Patients

BY C O U R TN E Y L A M D I N

In just 10 days, the University of Vermont’s Patrick Gymnasium has been transformed from an athletic facility to a medical surge center intended to treat coronavirus patients. The site, which can serve up to 100 patients, could be operational within a week.

“We’d be totally fine to not have to use this place, and that’s actually our goal,” said Daniel Hudson, a nursing director at UVM Medical Center who works at the facility. “But if we do need to use it, we believe we’re ready to do it.

JAMES BUCK

Surge center at Patrick Gymnasium

We believe the patients will be safe.”

The arena is still festooned with championship banners and largerthan-life posters of UVM athletes, memorabilia that is incongruous with its new surroundings. The basketball court is covered with a green tarp, and 50 cots are spaced out and sectioned off with makeshift walls.

During a press tour on Tuesday, every person working at the gym was wearing a face mask, including two men who were delivering a refrigerator from a local hardware store. Reporters were screened for a fever and other coronavirus symptoms before they were allowed inside.

The Burlington site is one of several temporary medical centers built across the state to free up hospital beds for patients that need more acute care.

Other sites, such as the 400-bed facility at the Essex fairgrounds, will only take “low acuity” patients with other medical needs. Personnel at Patrick Gym, on the other hand, will treat people with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 symptoms, Hudson said.

Most patients with mild coronavirus cases can recover at home, while those with severe cases may need treatment in an intensive care unit. The Patrick Gym site will serve patients in between, Hudson said.

“They might need a little bit of oxygen. [Doctors] might not want to send them home on that oxygen, but we might want to keep a closer eye on them and understand how they’re progressing,” he said. m Contact: courtney@sevendaysvt.com

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SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

Skirack

Dash for Cash « P.15 and provide payroll information to their loan officer, who uploads it through an electronic SBA portal to reserve up to two and a half times the borrower’s average monthly payroll.

The U.S. Treasury didn’t issue key guidance about the program until the night before the SBA began accepting applications. On top of that, Vermont lenders reported problems that prevented them and banks around the country from being able to process applications.

Northfield Savings Bank, the largest community bank in the state, had to apply for permission to participate because it wasn’t an existing SBA partner. The bank filed its paperwork ahead of time, but approval didn’t come until Monday, chief lending officer and senior vice president Al Flory said. Even then, only one of its nine lending officers was authorized to use the SBA’s electronic portal, limiting how quickly the bank could process loan applications. By the end of Monday, the bank had successfully filed a “small number,” Flory said.

Similarly, the Vermont Economic Development Authority was among numerous approved lenders nationwide who couldn’t get access to the SBA system because of what VEDA chief executive officer Cassie Polhemus described as a “glitch.”

“Friday night was a bad night,” she said.

“We knew that other lenders were already getting them in.”

But the problem was resolved, and over the weekend, VEDA got its first several applications approved.

The hiccups underscored business owners’ fear that luck might decide whether they receive desperately needed funds.

Most banks in Vermont and elsewhere gave priority to their existing customers, leaving at a possible disadvantage businesses whose primary lender didn’t participate or was stalled by technology problems. VEDA is among the fraction of lenders that will make the loans to new customers — but the organization, unlike most banks, isn’t authorized under the program to issue loans greater than $250,000, Polhemus told state lawmakers on Tuesday.

Christopher D’Elia, president of the Vermont Bankers Association, credited his members with a “herculean” effort to prepare for the program. Most loans that have been approved still haven’t been closed, he said, because the federal government is still ironing out details about the process. Those details matter for banks, who are issuing the loans using their existing capital, he said. (Lenders will be able to turn over their PPP loans to the Federal Reserve for cash, the central bank signaled Monday.)

“While the program is not smooth by any stretch, it is going to make a difference in Vermont,” D’Elia said.

The SBA’s Vermont District Office declined to comment or provide figures about loan applications in the state, citing a national directive issued Monday. D’Elia, however, said data he’s collecting from member banks showed that the number of Vermont loans processed in the program’s first few days was in the “high hundreds” of applications totaling “mid-hundreds of millions of dollars.”

D’Elia told lawmakers last week that he expected that the $349 billion could be drawn down within days, but he later told Seven Days that the nationwide rollout problems appeared to have slowed the pace. By Tuesday, though, the U.S.

Treasury was angling to have Congress approve another $250 billion for the fund, as White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said that nearly $50 billion of the initial amount had already been guaranteed to 178,000 businesses.

The loans may be especially helpful as a bridge for businesses — such as law firms and those providing other professional services — that are still open during the stay-at-home order but dealing with a sudden drop in revenue, said Kelly Devine, executive director of the Burlington Business Association. The loans offer less relief to businesses for which payroll isn’t their primary expense, or to those, such as Skirack’s Wheeler, who might not be able to rehire all of their workers by June 30.

Restaurants, in particular, will need direct cash infusions — beyond the SBA emergency loans — to stay afloat, said Farmhouse Group owner Jed Davis, whose restaurant portfolio includes Burlington’s Farmhouse Tap & Grill, El Cortijo and Pascolo Ristorante.

“The only thing the federal government has offered so far is more debt,” he said, referring to restaurateurs who might not qualify to have their loans forgiven. “Debt is an option, but who wants to take out more debt in the middle of a pandemic, as we enter a global recession?”

Davis, like Wheeler, said he had misgivings about applying for the loan, particularly without more clarity from the U.S. Treasury about the risks to restaurants that borrow.

But Davis said he was advised to apply immediately anyway, in the hopes that the program’s terms would “change or evolve.”

“If you don’t apply,” he said, “you don’t get a place in line.” m Contact: derek@sevendaysvt.com

Burlington Resource and Recovery Center (RRC) 802.755.7239 The RRC is here to help in response to COVID-19 Waxaan xalkaan u joognaa inaan caawinno COVID-19

19-‫ ﻧﺤﻦ ھﻨﺎ ﻟﻠﻤﺴﺎﻋﺪة ﻓﻲ ﻣﻮاﺟﮭﮫ ﻛﻮﻓﯿﺪ‬، ‫ﺑﺮﻟﯿﻨﺠﺘﻮن‬ Burlington, tuko hapa kusaidia dhidi ya Covid-19

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Unemployment, small business, food, housing, childcare, and property tax information

COVID-19 health guidance

Assistance in completing the 2020 Census questionnaire (it’s more important than ever to be counted!)

Each week, the Burlington Resource and Recovery Center will advertise with our amazing partner, Seven Days, to bring you helpful resources for tackling the COVID-19 challenges.

This week, the RCC shines its spotlight on BUSINESS RESOURCES. Do you have business questions? Contact the RRC for answers: • Is my business an essential or a non-essential business?

• Am I allowed to operate my business?

• My business insurance claim was denied. What can I do now?

• What financial assistance is available to my business?

• Will applying for one program’s benefits disqualify me from other benefit programs?

• What is the CARES Act? • I’m having trouble understanding how to apply for a loan under the Payroll Protection Program (PPP). Where can I find help?

• Can I get loan forgiveness for a PPP loan?

• Is the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) an outright grant or is it a loan that I have to repay?

• What is emergency paid sick leave (EPSL)? Does my business need to provide it?

• What is the emergency family and medical leave act (EFMLA)? What does it mean for my business?

• How do new unemployment benefits impact my employees?

If you have business resource questions, reach out to the City’s RRC. We are here to help, and we want to hear from you!

We’re all in this together!

Visit the RRC at burlingtonvt.gov/resources Email recovery@burlingtonvt.gov Call (open Mon - Fri, 8am - 4:30pm)

802.755.7239

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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news

The Checks Are Not in the Mail Self-employed Vermonters must wait for federal unemployment benefits S T ORY & PH OT O BY C OL I N FL AN D E RS

S

alvatore and Jamey Barnao are not used to needing help. The two selfemployed business owners — Salvatore, a custom tile installer; Jamey, a hair stylist — have long relied on themselves for their livelihood, building faithful clienteles that have kept them busy through the years.

The Georgia couple’s financial selfreliance crumbled late last month after Gov. Phil Scott ordered Vermonters to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The suspension of most commerce placed the Barnaos among thousands of other self-employed workers whose cash flow dried up overnight.

Salvatore and Jamey Barnao

MONEY M EY ISSUE Expecting the shutdown to last at least a few more weeks, the Barnaos are hoping government financial aid will help them stay afloat. But while a recently passed federal relief package gives self-employed people a rare chance to receive unemployment benefits, Vermont officials have stressed that the state may not be able to process their claims until late April. Some workers, including the Barnaos, fear their financial reserves will be gone before then.

“You can’t tell somebody they have to close up shop or can’t work without a plan in place,” Salvatore said last week. “This is gonna bankrupt a lot of people.”

Self-employed workers — including those in the so-called gig economy — do not qualify for traditional jobless benefits because they do not pay taxes into the state unemployment fund. State officials estimate that between 40,000 and 60,000 Vermonters, as much as 17 percent of the state’s workforce, fall into this category.

These workers will be eligible for unemployment benefits under the federal government’s $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package. But first, the Trump administration has indicated that states will need to individually set up separate unemployment systems to process all the new claims, according to Vermont Department of Labor Interim Commissioner Michael Harrington.

Vermont officials had been awaiting further guidance since President Donald Trump signed the federal bill into law on March 27. Those details finally arrived late 18

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

Sunday night. The state has since directed MTX, a company already under state contract, to start building the new claims system, Harrington said. But he warned that the feds are asking for a “monstrous lift.”

“This is a highly technical, highly involved process,” he said, explaining that the new system will need to process applications, run them through a series of eligibility criteria and then calculate monetary benefits — while also deducting taxes, child support and other outstanding payments. That’s in addition to “dozens” of other technical and programmatic requirements from the feds, he said.

“It’s not easy to calculate. It’s not easy to make determinations. And it’s not easy to process, especially when you’re talking about tens of thousands of applications at one time,” Harrington said.

The interim commissioner said the department is aiming for a phased-in approach that would allow it to start accepting applications within five to seven days while the vendor continues developing the system. Anyone who became

THIS IS GONNA BANKRUPT

A LOT OF PEOPLE. S ALVATO R E BAR NA O

unemployed before April 4 would receive retroactive payments dating back to late March, Harrington said. But he was unsure when the state might cut the first check for self-employed workers, suggesting that it could take at least two more weeks. “It really depends on how quickly we can bring this process together,” he said.

That wasn’t good enough for Salvatore, who said that further delay could leave his family to face another cycle of bills before they receive their first check. “By then, things are past due and you’re headed for disaster,” he said.

The best immediate option for self-employed people, according to Harrington, is to join an email list on the Vermont Department of Labor’s website so the state can tell them what to do once the new unemployment system is in place.

Setting up a system for people who never used to be eligible is challenging enough. But the department is doing that while also taking on tens of thousands of claims from laid-off employees of companies covered by the state’s unemployment fund. Seven Days reported in mid-March that the surge in claims had already produced a bottleneck at the unemployment call center. One woman told the paper it took her nearly 50 attempts to get someone on the phone.

To keep pace, the department tripled the center’s staff and rolled out a new portal for people to file initial claims online. But the reinforcements have struggled to meet a record-breaking demand; the center took in more initial claims over a two-week span — roughly 42,000 — than it does in a typical year, according to state data.

The demand has overtaxed the department’s technology. At a press conference on Monday, Harrington acknowledged that some people have not received their THE CHECKS

» P.22

Time to Take Out!

Safe and healthy screen time is just a few clicks away

TAKEOUT maintains social distancing and reduces touchpoints.

Check GoodToGoVermont.com to see what your favorite eatery is serving up in containers.

NOW FREE!

Vermont PBS now offers a free online workshop for families of preschool-aged children, focused on creative and practical ways to use technology in today's modern world.

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Food safety & public health authorities worldwide agree that the risk of transmitting COVID-19 via any food is very low, if present at all.

3/30/20 2:20 PM

Want to memorialize a loved one?

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Helping families plan their financial future

CALL OR EMAIL TODAY WITH QUESTIONS Marc V. Fragola, CFP ® Office: 802-865-5000 Direct: 802-657-4728 marc.fragola@nfp.com

We’re here to help. Our obituary and in memoriam services are affordable, accessible and handled with personal care.

620 Hinesburg Road Suite 200 South Burlington

nfp.com

Insurance services provided through NFP Corporate Services (NY), a subsidiary of NFP Corp. (NFP). Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. Kestra IS and Kestra AS are not affiliated with NFP or NFP Corporate Services (NY).

Share your loved one’s story with the Seven Days community in Lifelines.

Post your obituary or in memoriam online and in print at sevendaysvt.com/lifelines.

Or contact us at lifelines@sevendaysvt.com 865-1020 ext. 10.

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news Downgraded « P.14 “My attitude has been: Save lives first, worry about the finances after,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/PChittenden). “Which is to say, we don’t want people not getting access to materials that are needed to keep people safe or alive because of a worry that we’re going to overshoot a line item or something.”

Vermont Is Expected to Lose $389 Million in Taxes Due to COVID-19 The state is projecting hundreds of millions in lost and deferred revenue between March and June. Deferred revenue includes income taxes that the state may be able to collect in the next fiscal year, which begins in July.

General Fund

$62

$390

$140

Uncle Sam’s Plan

The federal government is likely to pick up the tab for many of these expenses.

The first of three aid packages approved

by Congress is already funding the state’s Health Operations Center, which coordinates Vermont’s epidemiological response.

The third — and by far the largest — is projected to direct nearly $2 billion to Vermont, U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced two weeks ago when it cleared the Senate.

Of that, the state is expecting to receive a $1.25 billion check later this month from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund.

Leahy’s office has outlined another $65 million worth of funding in the bill for Vermont, including $20 million for public transit, $10 million for airports and $5 million for public health preparedness. The rest of the $2 billion will come in the form of direct aid to hospitals and schools, as well as expanded unemployment benefits to Vermonters, according to Leahy’s office.

While the $1.25 billion payment amounts to a whopping three-quarters of the state’s annual General Fund budget, it comes with strings attached: The money can be used only to pay expenses created by the coronavirus pandemic between March and December of this year, and it cannot be used for expenses already included in state and local budgets.

Steve Klein, the legislature’s chief fiscal officer, is worried that those restrictions could prevent the state from using the federal aid for what it needs most: replacing the revenue it’s already lost. Perversely, he said, “We may have more money than we know what to do with if they tighten [the restrictions] up.”

Leahy’s office appears acutely aware of the problem. In an interview with Seven Days, members of his Senate Appropriations Committee staff said they were urging the Department of the Treasury to provide flexibility for the funding and a broad interpretation of coronavirusrelated expenses.

Kicking the Can

Not all of Vermont’s lost tax revenue is gone for good.

When the federal government bumped Tax Day from April 15 to July 15, the state had to follow suit, which caused a 20

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

Vermonters won’t be able to pay their property tax bills when they come due, which could further exacerbate school funding shortfalls. And while many residential property taxpayers get a break each year based on their earnings, next year’s payments are calculated using last year’s income levels — so those who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic won’t get relief anytime soon.

Adjusting the Adjustment

Education Fund

$38

$89

$53 Expected revenue Lost revenue

Transportation Fund

$65

Deferred revenue

$42 $3 Dollars in Millions

NOTE: EDUCATION FUND INCOME DOES NOT INCLUDE PROPERTY TAX REVENUE. SOURCE: VERMONT LEGISLATIVE JOINT FISCAL OFFICE

major problem on paper. That’s because many personal and corporate income tax payments will be collected next fiscal year, not this one. “So we have this whole last quarter without any revenues coming in,” said Sen. Ann Cummings (D-Washington), who chairs the Senate Finance Committee.

The good news is that most of that

BECAUSE THE NUMBER IS SO DAMN VARIABLE, ANYTHING I SAY TODAY

WILL BE WRONG TOMORROW.

FIN ANC E C O MMIS S IO NE R AD AM GR E S H IN

money should eventually show up, assuming taxpayers can pay what they owe come summer. And because those income tax collections reflect the robust economic activity that took place in 2019, they shouldn’t be affected by the current economic downturn.

So while the state’s General Fund revenue is projected to be short $202 million this fiscal year, $140 million of it is expected to arrive

by July. The other $62 million may be lost for good, due to shortfalls in other taxes that feed into the General Fund, such as those on rooms and meals.

The Scott administration recently gave retailers, restaurants, hotels and other businesses a two-month reprieve on the sales and use taxes and the rooms and meals taxes they remit each month.

“The idea was to give these guys a break,” Greshin explained.

But because those revenue sources reflect current recent economic activity

— much of which has ground to a halt — it’s unlikely to amount to a lot when it finally arrives. Furthermore, many establishments that owe the state money might not be able to pay up when it’s finally due.

“I think that it’s an open question as to whether we’ll be able to actually collect all that money,” senior fiscal analyst Mark Perrault told legislators last week.

Getting Schooled

That could prove especially problematic for the state’s Education Fund, which is partially funded by sales and use taxes.

“The only thing people are buying right now are groceries, and groceries aren’t subject to the sales tax,” said Rep. Janet Ancel (D-Calais), who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee. “So we are looking at really a pretty severe drop in sales tax revenue — and we don’t know how long it will last.”

The state’s Education Fund, which does not include the local property tax payments that also go to schools, was expected to bring in $558 million this year. In recent weeks, according to the Joint Fiscal Office’s latest projections, a quarter of that — or $142 million — has disappeared.

“Basically, the Education Fund is insolvent at this point,” Perrault said last week.

And just because schools are closed for the rest of the year doesn’t mean they’re spending less money. “If anything, this new world will cost them the same or more,” Ancel said.

Meanwhile, most school districts have already signed off on budgets for the next fiscal year, and those have added another $73 million worth of spending. “They were passed in another financial world,” Cummings said.

Lawmakers are also worried that many

In ordinary times, the legislature sends the governor a budget in May and then adjourns for the year. When lawmakers return the next January — halfway through the fiscal year — they pass a “budget adjustment act” that accounts for any changes in revenue or spending needs.

These being no ordinary times, the Scott administration and legislative leaders are now preparing for a second budget adjustment act that would address the problems caused by the pandemic. It could come up for a vote later this month or early next month, they say, and would only address the current fiscal year.

According to Greshin, the revised budget could be balanced by cutting spending, making use of the new federal funding and tapping the state’s four reserve funds, which currently hold $228 million. “I’m proud to say that Vermont is in much better shape than most other states,” Greshin said. “We do have full reserves. We do have the ability to plug holes.”

Ashe, the Senate president, said he believes now is an appropriate time to draw them down, but he argues that it’s not without cost. “If you use all the reserves, then they’re gone,” he said. “And you have to replenish them.”

One Step at a Time

Sen. Jane Kitchel (D-Caledonia), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, normally spends the month of April ironing out the next year’s budget.

For the time being, her committee isn’t even meeting.

“I could spend a lot of time raising questions only to be told, ‘I don’t know that yet,’” she said. “We need to exercise patience to get the answers we need to make decisions.”

Given how challenging it is to anticipate what next week will bring, nobody in state government appears eager to begin work on next year’s budget. “Until we’re all the way through the surge and well back down the back side of it, we won’t understand the impact on the state budget or household budgets,” said Johnson, the House speaker.

For that reason, lawmakers are now expecting to pass a short-term budget that

would cover only the first few months of the fiscal year that begins July 1. Rather than adjourn for the biennium, they would return over the summer or fall to complete the rest of the budget.

For now, according to Cummings, “There’s just too much up in the air.”

Pensions Will Be Paid

The good news, according to Treasurer Beth Pearce, is that the state has enough money — at least for now — to pay its bills.

Throughout the year, the state’s cash position ebbs and flows as revenue comes in and payments are made. The next big outlay is scheduled for April 30, when the state is set to distribute $130 million to school districts. “We will be paying that on time and without disruption,” Pearce said.

To provide an additional backstop, Pearce is calling on the legislature to extend the period during which she can borrow from restricted state funds to make payments. “It’s like borrowing from yourself,” she said. “It’s cheaper than going out for a line of credit.”

Pearce also oversees pension funds for state workers, teachers and municipal employees. Those were worth $4.6 billion at the end of the February — before the stock market tanked. The treasurer said she hasn’t yet received an end-of-March update.

“They’re gonna take some hits, and there’s gonna be some volatility in the markets continuing,” she said. “But we’re long-term investors. We see things in a 30-year horizon. We have more than enough money, I want to assure retirees, to pay retirement bills.”

‘Stay Tuned’

Though Toll and her colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee are no longer working into the night at the Statehouse, they’re continuing to meet — now using Zoom’s videoconferencing platform.

“There’s a learning curve,” she said.

“My kids hear us talking and say, ‘You’re such boomers!’”

The committee is also doing a lot of waiting — for clarity from the state economists and for marching orders from legislative leadership. “We’re on hold at this point,” she said.

According to Johnson, they may stay on hold for some time.

“Stay tuned,” she said. “It’s going to be a long process and not an easy one.” m Disclosure: Tim Ashe is the domestic partner of Seven Days publisher and coeditor Paula Routly. Find our conflict-of-interest policy at sevendaysvt.com/disclosure.

Contact: paul@sevendaysvt.com

AGRICULTURE

As Markets Dry Up, Some Vermont Dairies Are Dumping Milk

BY K E VI N MCCALLUM

Vermont dairies, already ailing before the coronavirus outbreak, are being forced to dump milk as markets for their products evaporate and prices plummet.

“In short, it’s not pretty,” Anson Tebbetts, Vermont’s agriculture secretary, told lawmakers last Thursday.

Shuttered restaurants and empty schools are sending demand for milk and cheese plunging, and wholesale prices are not expected to hit bottom before summer.

Some dairy farmers in Vermont are disposing of milk because there is nowhere to take it as the supply chain backs up, according to Dairy Farmers of America, which merged with the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery last year.

“Yes, it is happening in Vermont, “ DFA spokesperson Kim O’Brien said.

“No one wants to ask a farmer to do this, but we’re all working under really crazy circumstances that are out of our control.”

Mike St. Pierre, who hauls milk throughout the northwest corner of the state, said he’s dumped some of his own milk due to a backlog at the St. Albans creamery, but nothing like his nephew’s huge 5,000-head farm.

“Instead of bringing it to the co-op, they dump a couple loads a day right in the manure pit,” St. Pierre said last Friday.

The co-op is doing something similar. It’s taking delivery of whole milk, removing the cream, and then dumping five or six loads a day of the remaining skim milk in area pits, he said.

The state’s signature industry finds itself acutely vulnerable to the economic malaise the pandemic is spreading. A recent survey of 64 Vermont agricultural businesses showed that 9 percent had closed since March 19, while another 43 percent had partially shut down.

All told, the businesses reported losing $8.2 million over just 11 days, Tebbetts said.

Dairy represents about 70 percent of the state’s agricultural output, and its outlook is particularly grim. The state’s 654 remaining dairy farmers are facing “dramatic” price drops in the coming months, he said.

“We’re really concerned about every single dairy farmer in Vermont,” Tebbetts said. m Contact: kevin@sevendaysvt.com

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news The Checks « P.18 benefits on time because of glitches in the department’s 30-year-old “legacy” mainframe computer system.

“There are times where a batch [of claims] has failed overnight that we have to correct the next day,” Harrington said. He said the department is working to get the checks out as soon as possible and asked for “everybody to remain patient.”

For some lawmakers, however, patience has worn thin, particularly among those who have been in office long enough to recall one of Vermont’s most notable technological gaffes.

“We got a problem,” said Sen. Dick Sears (D-Bennington) during a video conference with the Senate last week, warning his colleagues that they are going to hear from many angry constituents unless the state can figure out how to speed up the process. “People are hurting for money. They’ve got bills to pay, and they’re not going to be able to collect their UI because we’ve got a system that reminds me of when we were trying to do the health care system.”

Indeed, thousands of Vermonters were frustrated by the disastrous 2013 launch of Vermont Health Connect, the state’s online health insurance marketplace for individuals who aren’t insured by their employer. Some of the health portal’s main functions took more than a year to establish. Other long-promised features were scrapped altogether amid reports of backlogs exceeding 10,000 cases. The state ended up spending roughly $200 million on the website, mostly in federal funds.

Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) recalled hearing from people who were “putting in 80-hour weeks” to address the health marketplace woes and said lawmakers need to keep tabs on the situation.

“When things were out of control, [it] wasn’t always easy for the people in the weeds trying to fix every problem as they came up to understand how big the problem was,” Ashe said during last week’s conference call. “We just need to make sure that we’re taking the 10,000-foot view looking down and say, ‘OK, we’re hearing that they’re trying to plug each gap, but does it pass the straight-face test of whether people are getting timely benefits?’”

Salvatore said the state’s track record gives him little confidence that it would meet its projected timeline.

“They’re telling us a month?” he said.

“I take that as, it’s gonna be two months at the earliest.”

Once the new system is up and running, the Department of Labor’s call 22

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

UNEMPLOYMENT ABCS Vermont benefits: Employees who lose their job can get up to $513 a week for 26 weeks. Benefits are calculated by taking the total wages paid in the two highest recent quarters and dividing that amount by 45.

Eligible workers are traditionally those laid off at no fault from jobs that require a W-2 form. The Scott administration has expanded the criteria to cover people who leave their jobs for reasons related to the virus, such as becoming ill or caring for a loved one.

The federal bailout package: It extends state unemployment benefits an additional 13 weeks, including for those who have already exhausted previous claims. It also allows people who are self-employed, such as independent contractors and small business owners, to claim benefits.

It adds $600 a week through July for anyone on unemployment, meaning someone who earns the maximum state payout would receive $1,113 each week.

center will likely experience another surge. Harrington, the interim commissioner, said he’s expecting “tens of thousands” of claims from self-employed and independent contractors.

One of those expecting to file is Erin Badman, who runs her own cleaning business in Addison County. All of Badman’s clients have canceled in the last few weeks, and though most have still paid her for her regular shift, Badman said she’s not sure how long their generosity will last. The single mother of four has tried to stay optimistic despite the “massive anxiety” that comes from not knowing how long her savings will last.

While she has some money squirrelled away to help her get by in the short term, she had hoped to use that money to finally buy a house.

“Now it’s going to dwindle away, and I have to start all over,” she said. “But I guess it’s better than not having it.” m Disclosure: Tim Ashe is the domestic partner of Seven Days publisher and coeditor Paula Routly. Find our conflict-of-interest policy at sevendaysvt.com/disclosure.

Contact: colin@sevendaysvt.com

lifelines

OBITUARIES, VOWS, CELEBRATIONS

OBITUARIES Elizabeth White

1954-2020 SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT. She gave everything her all, and she gave us everything.

On Tuesday, March 31, Elizabeth White was unfairly taken from her family after an extended battle against lymphoma and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). We are heartbroken.

She was “Mrs. White” to the hundreds of kids at Rick Marcotte Central School, “Grammy” to her six grandchildren, “Gabby” to her many extended family members, and just “Mom” to her three kids who loved her.

My mother was an extraordinary person. The first to volunteer, the first to bake, the first to donate.

She never ran out of gifts to share — be it food, care, time or one of her amazing quilts.

She delighted in teaching kids and adults alike to sew, hosting summer camps and one-on-one sessions in her basement. Even while she was undergoing treatment, she still churned out quilts to donate and made sure that each of the grandkids had a “big kid” quilt to grow into.

I will miss her stream-ofconsciousness emails and texts — completely without punctuation — that would

leave me scratching my head about what she meant while turning to her “other” daughter Jennifer for a second opinion.

She leaves behind her husband, Roger, of South Burlington, Vt; daughter Bethani and granddaughter Steele of Kentucky; son Tim and his wife, Kelsey, and their children Rylie, Aubree and Felix in Florida; and son Nick and his wife, Jamie, and their kids Easton and Bailey in Wisconsin.

Mom was the baby — two brothers, George and JW Waddell, along with sisters Anna Monahan and Eileen Curran, remember her.

Her parents, AB and Rita Waddell, preceded her in death.

We have her quilts, so we don’t really need flowers, and all of us, except maybe Nick, are full.

Here are a few things you can do to honor Gabby: - Plant something. Mom loved lilacs and peonies.

- Learn to sew, and then teach someone else.

- Read to a child.

- Use your talent (whatever it is) to make someone else feel special.

- Register to be an organ and tissue donor.

- Donate blood or platelets — be a literal lifesaver. Use the hashtag #SleevesUp4Gabby or pledge your donation here: sleevesup.redcrossblood.org/campaign/savemore-people-like-gabby.

- Donate to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in her name; help us end cancer: jimmyfund.org/gift.

We are tentatively planning a celebration of life for her birthday weekend (September 27) when we are hopefully finished social distancing. In the meantime, curl up in the quilt she made you — and stay home!

Sister, 65 years. Wife, 45 years. Mother, 43 years. Grammy, six years.

Friend and fighter, always. #FCancer

In loving memory of

Alexa Rose Cioffi

11/21/1985 - 04/09/2016

You are always and forever in our hearts www.allourhearts.com/ alexa-rose-cioffi/

Fate whispers to the warrior, ‘You can not withstand the storm.’

The warrior whispers back, ‘I am the storm.’

WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER This is a moment that will define us. We can string up one set of lights, shining for a few hours each evening, as a symbol of our community solidarity and hope.

Thank you to everyone who is working to keep things going in these trying times.

SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS

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arts news

Endgame Lisa Mancini, self-published, 260 pages. $17.

Like, this week my editorial is about hate groups and her article will be about the increase of hate crimes since Trump was elected.

Five Newish Books by Vermont Authors B Y CHELSEA ED GAR, PA MEL A P O LSTON & K R I STEN R AV I N

S

even Days writers can’t possibly read, much less review, all the books that arrive in a steady stream by post, email and, in one memorable case, a cete of badgers. So this monthly feature is our way of introducing you to a handful of books by Vermont authors. To do that, we contextualize each book just a little and quote a single representative sentence from, yes, page 32.

Inclusion here implies neither approval nor derision on our part, but simply: Here are a bunch of books, arranged alphabetically by authors’ names, that Seven Days readers might like to know about.

Screw Your Wedding: A Candid Guide to Wedding Planning by a Jaded Event Planner Samantha E. Bellinger, Onion River Press, 220 pages. $17.99.

Forewarning: While it is delicious, buttercream has a tendency to melt in extreme heat.

With more than 10 years of experience planning events, SAMANTHA E. BELLINGER has a strategy for just about everything when it comes to preparing for a matrimonial celebration.

In this no-frills how-to guide published last summer, the 620 Events owner shares her nine-step formula for helping couples plan their wedding with calm and confidence. She parcels the behemoth task into manageable steps — think setting a budget, determining the date and creating a day-of timeline.

Helpful tools such as a script for speaking with vendor reps, an email template to use when inquiring about a cake, and a glossary of linens (would you prefer your overlay with or without ruching?) are designed to help the betrothed make the best choices for themselves and their guests.

With a conversational tone, stepby-step instructions and humorous anecdotes, Bellinger has crafted an approachable and realistic guide to planning the big day.

K.R.

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Endgame is Vermont author LISA MANCINI’s fourth installment in her Freya Barrett mystery series. As the title suggests, chess figures into the story and serves as a metaphor for the cat-and-mouse drama with Freya’s deranged stalker.

But Agatha Falls (barely disguised Rutland), where Freya is a college student, newspaper columnist, mystery writer and preternatural sleuth, is beset with yet another, ripped-from-the-headlines crime: a white nationalist demonstration that erupts in violence.

Though Endgame is fiction, Mancini allows her characters a loathing for real-life President Donald Trump, and an epilogue tacked on to the story allows one “Avenging Angel” an interesting opportunity for retribution.

Freya is a veritable Nancy Drew for the 21st century, and the author has an innate feel for the page-turner genre. If the series continues, however, one hopes that the fundamentals of syntax, punctuation and spelling get as much consideration as plot twists.

P.P.

Healing Lyme Beyond Antibiotics: A Personal Account of Winning the Battle Against Lyme Disease Isabella S. Oehry, Balboa Press, 162 pages. $12.99

Blood from other animals is the only item on the ticks’ menu. is not a medical doctor. A disclaimer at the start of Healing Lyme Beyond Antibiotics, published in December, states that the book is not meant as medical advice but as a personal account of Oehry’s experience seeking treatment for the tick-borne illness.

The author, an avid outdoorsperson who describes her love of climbing, biking, hiking and trail running, was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2016. After what she describes as unsuccessful treatment with antibiotics, she went searching for a natural path to recovery.

A summary of Oehry’s own journey gives way to a rundown of ticks and Lyme-causing bacteria, as well as treatment options ranging from medicinal plants to hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Oehry’s education is in business, management information systems and psychology. Though the coronavirus era may not be an opportune moment to question medical science, her book is a resource for those seeking alternative perspectives.

ISABELLA S. OEHRY

K.R.

GOT AN ARTS TIP? ARTNEWS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Coffee Grounds for the Worm Bin Glenn Reed, Onion River Press, 110 pages. $12.99

We keep pointing, but / her eyes are tired / done with squinting at / each signature from 85 years, like / old curled and yellowed notes, wanting / the dresser drawers to shut and be / content with paperbacks at the coffee table…

The thing being pointed at is an eagle, drafting majestically above Washington’s Skagit River, but the would-be bird-watcher has already seen enough. Each of the 46 poems in GLENN REED’s Coffee Grounds for the Worm Bin seems to gesture insistently at something — the creep of daylight through a pile of dirty laundry on a hungover morning, a swirl of hair clippings on a barbershop floor, the way adolescent boys disappear into their clothes.

Reed, a Rutland-based writer and disability advocate, gathers his poems from his physical and existential meanderings: This collection, his first, which was published last summer, begins with ruminations on the trees of his childhood (i.e., “Dogwood Tree (at age 4),” “Crabapple Tree (at age 6)”) and concludes with a quizzical pondering of late middle age. In the book’s penultimate poem, “Deja View: In the Trinity Alps, California,” he muses wistfully over the vistas of his past: “now to drink / of these distant spaces / now to ponder / of where i once left such thoughts / hanging on a crescent moon, perched / on another sky.” With whimsical nostalgia and a nearly encyclopaedic grasp of all the flora and fauna between Vermont and the Pacific Northwest, Reed offers a satisfying, sensual — but mercifully not olfactory — rummage through the worm bin of his life.

C. E.

Time Is Always Now Rebecca Starks, Able Muse Press, 116 pages. $19.95

But his is the page I fall open to / in this book of coming out into the light.

In her debut collection, Time Is Always Now, Richmond poet REBECCA STARKS touches on the topics of aging, relationships, nature and postpartum life.

However, of the book’s 36 poems, those that make the strongest impression tackle some of the hardest-hitting issues of the day.

“Poem of Our Climate” looks at the climate crisis; “Post-Patriotic Ode to Town Meeting Day” examines the challenges of making meaningful change in democracy; and “Open Carry” questions current gun policies.

In the last, Starks replaces the idea of guns with umbrellas to illuminate the absurdity of carrying firearms in places such as nightclubs and elementary schools.

“What if umbrellas don’t keep you dry, / people do, and are broken trying?” she asks.

Whether she’s musing on her relationship with social media, considering the future of the country or describing the state’s mud-season driving conditions, Starks pens vivid and thoughtprovoking stanzas that leave a lasting impression.

Experience Vermont’s art and culture, virtually.

Vermont Art Online is a resource that lets families, students, educators, and the public enjoy Vermont’s museums and galleries from the comfort and safety of their own homes. Virtual Exhibits: Enter art, history, and science museums across the state, interact with spaces and exhibitions, and click on objects for deeper exploration. Art at Home: Discover at-home activities from Vermont arts institutions to share with your family or students.

vermontartonline.org

K.R.

Contact: chelsea@sevendaysvt.com, pamela@sevendaysvt.com, kravin@sevendaysvt.com

Presented in partnership with the Vermont Curators Group, and with generous support from the Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Humanities.

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arts news Thing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Sgt. Rock. Among his own numerous comics and graphic novels are Heartburst, Brat Pack, The One, Can’t Get No, The Big Lie and Army@Love. Veitch has also long journaled and drawn his dreams, turning his fascination into the 1990s series Rare Bit Fiends. Though that publishing venture “ran out of gas in 1996,” the cartoonist said he is now creating a new issue.

The purpose of dreams “is trying to keep the conscious mind stable,” he said. Veitch noted that dream working, beginning during a depressed period in his early twenties, set him on his productive path. “I really pulled my life together,” he recalled. “Pretty soon I got a grant [to go to] school. It helped to reboot myself.”

Veitch reiterated that history in a Q&A Thursday with CCS faculty member STEPHEN BISSETTE. A fellow Vermonter, Bissette attended the Kubert School at the same time, and later worked with Veitch at Swamp Thing. The livestream ceremony, capably and hilariously hosted by cartoonist and CCS faculty member LUKE KRUGER-HOWARD, also featured remarks by Bechdel, Koren and Ollie, each from their socially distant quarters.

About a decade ago, Veitch launched Eureka Comics, which creates cartoons for corporate and educationbased clients, including textbook publishers. “They’re more open than ever to using comics,” he said in the phone interview.

“A well-drawn comic — you can’t not read it. It engages at an emotional level. And you can get complex information across more simply.”

Asked what he expected to do as cartoonist laureate, Veitch didn’t hesitate to suggest advocacy for supporting education — including in the arts. The federal job-training grant he received to attend Kubert made a huge difference in his life, he said. And he became not only a successful cartoonist but a tax-paying citizen.

“I would like our legislatures to think along those lines — to pay kids to go to school,” Veitch said. “It’s crazy to go to school and graduate 50, 60, 100 thousand dollars in debt. It’s madness. We have to invest in our kids.”

That worthy mission might require moving mountains.

But the staggering amount of student debt in the U.S. is certainly one of the financial crises underscored by the present pandemic. So perhaps Veitch’s ideas will find some traction — after it’s safe to go outdoors.

Meantime, he might discover the same joy in being the cartoonist laureate that Bechdel explained in an email to Seven Days: “It’s given me a really profound feeling of being included, of being part of this state,” she wrote. “I love Vermont so much, and to get this kind of official recognition by the place that has become my home is very, very gratifying.”

Asked why Vermont should even have a cartoonist laureate, Bechdel replied, “Why should poets have all the fun? Besides, we have an unusually high rate of cartoonists per capita here. I think because of the topography — all these remote dells and hollows create the perfect habitat.”

In tiny West Townshend, Veitch would no doubt agree.

CARTOONS

A Virtual Welcome Rick Veitch becomes new Vermont cartoonist laureate B Y PAMEL A PO LSTO N

L

ast Thursday, April 2, outgoing Vermont cartoon- genre work for the big superhero companies, his own ist laureate ALISON BECHDEL officially passed the creator-owned graphic novels, educational comics, and laurels to West Townshend resident RICK VEITCH. explorations into the subconscious that would make the He is the fourth, following Bechdel, EDWARD KOREN great Winsor McCay proud,” he wrote, referring to the and JAMES KOCHALKA. early 20th-century cartoonist and But Veitch was the first cartoonanimator best known for his strip ist laureate to be inaugurated via “Little Nemo.” livestream. The ceremony that “And just like McCay,” Sturm usually takes place in the Vermont added, “Rick’s imagination is RICK VE ITC H Statehouse this time forewent the commensurate with his stunning congratulatory handshake from the craftsmanship.” governor, and the audience — some 50 people Veitch is a native son, born in Bellows Falls in “attendance” — was virtual. in 1951. His first published work was in the Gov. PHIL SCOTT, of course, is battling the Vermont Cynic, the student newspaper at the biggest opponent of not just a career but a University of Vermont. As he explained in a lifetime: the coronavirus pandemic. Even phone call with Seven Days, Veitch had the so, he managed to issue a short message to good fortune to receive funding to attend the Veitch: “Congratulations, Rick. Your honor is Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art well deserved.” in New Jersey. That education, and location, led him to the epicenter of cartooning in New York City.

Vermont is the only state to appoint a cartoonist laureate, an idea “concocted,” as Veitch put it, by the Veitch went on to work for, as he put it, “just about CENTER FOR CARTOON STUDIES in White River Junction and everybody” — most notably two giants of the genre, officially sanctioned. The three-year term is honorary, (pre-Disney) Marvel and DC Comics. “I was fortunate aka unpaid. that fantasy and heavy metal were growing,” Veitch said.

Fellow cartoonist JAMES STURM is the center’s cofounder, He made enough money, he added, that he could afford along with MICHELLE OLLIE. Sturm explained in an email why to return home and work remotely — which in the preVeitch was selected for the laureate. digital era meant “via FedEx.” “With his roots in underground comics, Rick has Veitch has had roles as an artist and/or writer for some forged a singular career that includes groundbreaking of the iconic characters of the genre, including Swamp

A WELL-DRAWN COMIC —

YOU CAN’T NOT READ IT.

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This article updates a Live Culture blog post published on April 2 at sevendaysvt.com.

Contact: pamela@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Learn more at cartoonstudies.org and rickveitch.com.

GOT AN ARTS TIP? ARTNEWS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

I

“

BOOKS

Major Jackson holding the 2016 Vermont Book Award

Poetic Reach

Major Jackson and colleagues bring verse to a socially distant world

BY M ARGARE T GRAYS ON

platform for video readings and interviews called the Social Distance Reading Series.

Jackson is the first to admit that a video platform is an imperfect delivery system for a poetry reading. “One has to work really hard to replicate human presence on a computer. There’s something mechanistic about it,” he said. But he also believes it offers an opportunity for new connections between poets and listeners.

“Somehow, the work has greater resonance and relevance because it is one lone individual speaking to another,” he said. “I think the curse of isolation is countered by the intimacy that poetry affords us.”

Long before the coronavirus pandemic, Jackson and fellow writers had been meeting in each other’s homes to share work and opportunities. The Vermont School is a relatively new name for this community of artists, convened about 17 years ago.

Vermonters and members KERRIN MCCADDEN and PENELOPE CRAY both published new volumes of poetry in the last two months.

Jackson’s wife and fellow UVM lecturer, DIDI JACKSON, has a book coming out later this month. Poet ELIZABETH

I THINK THE CURSE OF ISOLATION IS COUNTERED BY

THE INTIMACY THAT POETRY AFFORDS US. MAJ O R JAC K S O N

is also curating the Green Mountains Review series.

“I really am someone who has thrived and grown as a result of community,” Major Jackson said. “Poetry is one of those arts where you commit yourself to a lifetime of growth. It’s more that one enters into a guild, rather than achieving some maestro level. The art is wide. I’m always trying to make it new.”

The Absurd Man offers relevant insights for uncertain times. The book’s title is a reference to Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus, which laments humankind’s endless pursuit of meaning in the face of death.

But don’t let that dissuade you. The poetry collection is, as Jackson puts it, “playful, personal and reflective.”

“What I’m calling attention to in the book is the fact that writers and artists make work to attempt to answer that question, or at least address [it] … Why are we here? And what does it mean that we’re here on this Earth?” he said.

Aesthetically, the book is also a delight.

The best part of reading one of Jackson’s poems is that the next word is often a surprise. His tangents reflect enthusiastic observation of the world. The poet nods respectfully to his own style in this excerpt from “I’ve Said Too Much”: POWELL

COURTESY OF VERMONT COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS

am a tributary of something greater,” wrote poet MAJOR JACKSON in his new book, The Absurd Man. The poem, called “Double View of the Adirondacks as Reflected Over Lake Champlain From Waterfront Park,” is about the perspective found in considering the lake and the mountains. But in the age of a pandemic and social distancing, it could just as easily be an ode to community, a reminder of purpose and an answer to the question: What is the point of these sacrifices?

Jackson released The Absurd Man, his fifth collection, on February 25. But within a few weeks, as events and readings around the country were canceled, the standard book promotion cycle became untenable.

Instead, the poet and professor of English at the University of Vermont is holed up in his home near rural Rochester.

He and other Vermont writers are finding ways to share their work and promote new books virtually — and to reach people in a time when Jackson feels they might need poetry most.

“I think this is a moment in which poets realize that there is a kind of spiritual service in writing poems and sharing them with people who may not have the imagination or language to understand the significance of this moment,” Jackson said by phone. “For me it represents a kind of maturation of vision to realize that our words help us to realign ourselves with each other.”

Jackson’s friend and colleague, UVM professor EMILY BERNARD, launched a virtual book party for The Absurd Man on Facebook, inviting other writers and friends to record themselves reading Jackson’s poems. Bernard had planned to host a book event at her home, but it was canceled due to concerns about gathering in groups.

The impact of the coronavirus on the publishing industry and individual writers could be significant. Most of the events, fairs and festivals where books are sold have been canceled. While some bookshops are offering online ordering and curbside service, such measures may not mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.

“Writers, maybe more than ever, have to create a presence on social media and on the internet. Some of us were hugely ambivalent about that,” Jackson said.

“Today, writers will definitely have to think a little bit more entrepreneurially about their books. I remember when there was even skepticism about authors having web pages.”

In addition to encouraging an online presence, Jackson and fellow poets have teamed up with Green Mountains Review, a literary magazine based at Northern Vermont University, to offer another place for writers to promote their work: a

I find it difficult to control my idioms; only ask which direction the wind blows, and I will give you a history of my elms and cottonwoods or my theft of fire. My brain plunders its orchard of speech.

A virtual poetry reading can’t match the presence and atmosphere of an in-person one. But if you’re anything like this reporter, you might find yourself enjoying them more often, now that attendance doesn’t require leaving your couch. Open a book of poetry after a long day of phone scrolling, and a set of rusty gears may begin to turn in your head.

“A poem is ‘a momentary stay against confusion,’” Jackson said, quoting Robert Frost.

“And yet, they are momentary,” he added. “Like Sisyphus, we have to climb that mountain over and over again.” m Contact: margaret@ sevendaysvt.com

INFO The Absurd Man by Major Jackson, W.W. Norton, 112 pages. $26.95.

Learn more about the Social Distance Reading Series at greenmountainsreview.com.

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

27

RETAIL THERAPY BY CAROLYN FOX

Take Care

Seven self-care items you probably need — and where to buy them locally FILE: LUKE AWTRY

A

s the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the health of Vermonters and people around the world, it also has serious side effects for small retailers. Under Gov. Phil Scott’s stay-at-home order, all “nonessential” businesses have been forced to shutter their doors, resulting in huge financial losses, as well as devastating reductions in the workforce.

But just because retailers aren’t physically open to shoppers right now doesn’t mean many aren’t still operational.

Like the rest of us, these stores are adapting to survive: They’re building e-commerce websites, changing their inventory, starting home deliveries and doing curbside pickup.

Many are offering free shipping or sales; AroMed Essentials in Montpelier is even throwing in free hand sanitizer when you phone in a purchase.

Now more than ever, it matters where you spend your money.

If Vermonters want their downtowns to be as vibrant when the pandemic is over, said Delaney Shea, a manager of Slate, “then we hope that they support us right now, because this is when we really need it.”

Her Burlington home goods store, which typically benefits from Church Street foot traffic, has struggled to reach customers since its doors closed and has had to reduce its staff by about three-quarters.

“Rather than buying a candle on Amazon, [shoppers] can buy a candle from us, and we’ll be here when it’s over,” Shea continued. “It’s really important that people think of their neighbors right now.”

That seems to be happening in Hardwick, where Galaxy Bookshop is open for shipping and curbside pickup. “When we decided we were going to close the doors,” said co-owner Sandy Scott, “it was scary, and we worried that we wouldn’t have any sales coming in. But people are continuing to buy from us. They’re saying, ‘I’m so glad you’re there; thank you for being there.’

They’re saying, ‘I want you to be there when this is all over.’”

If you’re looking to support local retailers and score some useful products at the same time, read on for the first in a weekly “shop local” roundup, each with a different theme. This week’s is self-care, for obvious reasons. If you don’t see your favorite retailer below, seek them out; this list is by no means comprehensive.

WRECK THIS JOURNAL

BUSINESS

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SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

ALSO TRY: CBD products from AroMed Essentials (aromedessentials.com) in Montpelier or Ceres Natural Remedies ( s h o p.c e re s re m e d i e s.c o m ) , w i t h locations in Burlington, Middlebury and Brattleboro.

THE YERBARY MASTER TONIC

Everyone is upping their wellness game right about now. To strengthen immune systems, the Charlotte-based Yerbary concocts a Master Tonic made with onions, garlic, horseradish root, ginger, turmeric, habañero and raw apple cider vinegar. Bold, spicy and tangy, it makes you feel alive.

As Yerbary CEO and founder Michaela Grubbs told Seven Days in January, “Especially in Vermont, people are doing what they can to feel better naturally, and they’re realizing that there is a space in between wellness and sickness where we can use food as medicine.”

Order at yerbary.com for shipping or free Burlington-area pickup. Also look for it in the supplement aisles at local markets and co-ops.

ALSO TRY: Herbal health remedies from Burlington-based Urban Moonshine (urbanmoonshine.com).

HOW TO BUY:

WEIGHTED CABLE KNIT THROW

Several lifetimes ago, in February 2018, the New Yorker published a story titled “The Seductive Confinement of a Weighted Blanket in an Anxious Time.” Well, times have only gotten more anxious. If anything can make confinement feel seductive, perhaps it’s a gorgeous cable-knit blanket from Burlington’s Slate, which “offers 10 pounds of pressure, helping to relieve anxiety, insomnia and more.”

Especially if you’re not able to get all the hugs you need in this era of social distancing, consider being smooshed by this blankie instead.

Order at slatehome.co or call 540-6850; free local delivery within Chittenden County. Spend $75 and Slate will send a free thank-you kit to the essential worker of your choice.

HOW TO BUY:

EXTRA-STRENGTH CBD GUMMIES

Here in Vermont, cannabidiol — aka CBD — comes in many forms, from oils and salves to truffles and kombucha. But these days you might want to reach for the extra-strength stuff. After all, cannabis’ nonpsychoactive sibling can relieve anxiety and depression, promote sleep, reduce pain, and even help with posttraumatic stress disorder.

So we all could likely benefit from Upstate Elevator Supply Co.’s 65-milligram gummies, made with hemp grown in Craftsbury. Find ’em through Elevated State VT in Stowe. The watermelon flavor just might make you think of summer.

HOW TO BUY: Order at elevatedstatevt.com or

call 253-HEMP for free shipping, curbside pickup or local delivery.

The University of Vermont Health Network recommends journaling to keep calm in a stressful time. Its website even suggests going a step further for catharsis: “Write down a negative emotion, then rip up the piece of paper and toss it away.”

Sounds like Wreck This Journal is just what the doctor ordered: The colorful notebook contains DIY prompts for painting, tearing and otherwise “unleashing your creativity,” not to mention your emotions. Find it through the Yankee Bookshop in Woodstock.

HOW TO BUY: Order at yankeebookshop. com, call 457-2411 or email info@ yankeebookshop.com for free shipping, contact-free pickup or local front-porch delivery.

ALSO TRY: Any journal from a local bookstore, such as Phoenix Books (phoenixbooks.biz) in Essex, Burlington and Rutland, and Bear Pond Books (bearpondbooks.com) in Montpelier.

MINDFUL MATCHA LATTE MIX

When your brain starts spiraling, it can be helpful to practice mindfulness — the art of acknowledging and accepting your thoughts and feelings while shifting focus to the present moment.

Burlington-based Tomgirl Kitchen offers a DIY organic matcha latte mix to “plant the seeds of meditation.”

It contains “the building blocks of everyday joy”: ceremonial-grade matcha green tea from Middlebury’s Stone Leaf Teahouse, gingko biloba for brain health, and moringa leaf for all eight essential amino acids — plus maple sugar and peppermint. Vibrant and green, the drink is a reminder to pause, breathe and reset.

HOW TO BUY: Order at tomgirl-102717.square.

site for free local delivery or pickup.

ALSO TRY: Calming teas such as chamomile from Vermont Artisan Coffee & Tea Co. (vtartisan.com) in Waterbury Center.

When Life Was Simpler...

SWEAR WORD COLORING BOOK

Need some screen-free time? Social distancers have been turning to puzzles, board games, knitting and, yes, adult coloring books to unwind. You’ll never get an alarming news blast or pop-up ad while working on these analog activities, but you may get an hour or two of engrossing entertainment and stress relief.

We like the attitude of the F*ck Off, I’m Coloring! book, available through Hardwick’s Galaxy Bookshop. It contains 40 detailed designs of “wonderfully original insults, exclamations and swear words.”

...and The Music Was Better!

Order at galaxybookshop. indielite.org or call 472-5533 for shipping or curbside pickup.

ALSO TRY: Any coloring book from a local bookstore, such as the Flying Pig Bookstore (flyingpigbooks.com) in Shelburne and Next Chapter Bookstore (nextchapterbooksvt.indielite.org) in Barre.

HOW TO BUY:

HAND SANITIZER

Obviously, the most important aspect of self-care is staying safe and protecting yourself, and others, from the coronavirus — and that requires a lot of hand sanitizing.

Montpelier’s Caledonia Spirits has produced more than 1,200 gallons of Barr Hill Hand Sanitizer for health care workers at the front lines of the fight against COVID-19: first responders, nurses and doctors. They continue to supply the sanitizer to these essential medical professionals, but now they’ve opened orders up to the general public, as well.

Order at caledoniaspirits. com for pickup at the distillery (orders may take two to three weeks), or email cleanhands@caledoniaspirits.com.

ALSO TRY: Lunaroma (lunaroma.com) in Burlington and Pure Energy Apothecary (pureenergybody.com) in Williston, among others, also carry hand-sanitizing products for personal purchase. m

THE ONE FOR MORE MUSIC!

HOW TO BUY:

INFO

101.7 NORTHERN VERMONT • CHAMPLAIN VALLEY • CENTRAL VERMONT

Retail Therapy is a new column about shopping local in the coronavirus era.

Got a product or store suggestion?

Email carolyn@sevendaysvt.com.

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SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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4/6/20 10:15 AM

“Our readers have been so appreciative.”

Matt Weiner CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Seven Days staffer since 2006

the people behind the pages

Matt Weiner spends every Wednesday morning waiting for a truck full of hot-off-the-press newspapers. Then he helps 18 drivers load up their vehicles with carefully counted stacks of Seven Days. Setting off in different directions, the group delivers a total of 35,000 papers to more than a thousand locations, from Plattsburgh, N.Y., to St. Johnsbury, White River Junction to Rutland.

Weiner, 36, manages the distribution end of things at Seven Days. The South Burlington native started in circulation while he was a student at the University of Vermont. He had a paper route through all four years of college and, after graduation, parlayed that into a deputy director position. Six years ago, the sociology major took over the top job, which he embraces with cheerful gusto.

There’s a lot of hard work involved in delivering so many newspapers in one day to three-quarters of Vermont: vetting and managing the drivers, many of whom are musicians; keeping track of “returns,” which we report to an auditor; mailing subscription copies; communicating with stores that want to carry Seven Days or any of the company’s seven other free publications. On Fridays, Matt goes out to some of the most popular pickup spots to monitor supply and demand. He restocks, straightens up and checks in with the people who make Seven Days available to readers.

Witnessing the paper’s weekly assembly is “fascinating,” says Matt, who notes that his role in the relay is getting the finished product out to the people.

“Sure, it can be a ton of pressure at times, but I love the feeling of overcoming the challenges,” he said.

The biggest to date has been distributing the paper during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our readers, who we’re fighting to keep informed, have been so appreciative. That’s the rewarding side,” Matt says. “They are what keeps us motivated to go back out there.”

Keep this newspaper free for all.

Join the Super Readers at sevendaysvt.com/super-readers!

No internet? Send a check with your info to: Seven Days c/o Super Readers, PO Box 1164, Burlington, VT 05402.

Need info? Contact Corey Grenier at 865-1020, ext. 36 or superreaders@sevendaysvt.com.

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HACKIE

A VERMONT CABBIE’S REAR VIEW BY JERNIGAN PONTIAC

The Trickle

O

ne by one, my existing airport bookings had canceled, transforming my once-reassuring wall calendar (yes, I’m that old-school) into a sad display of big red X’s. Certainly, no new reservations were on the horizon. Not in this environment.

The next blow: My restaurant fares began to dry up as people got hip to the danger of public gatherings. Movie, performance and club outings quickly followed suit.

Fortunately, I still had my loyal stable of daily drinkers. Thank goodness for them, I remember thinking. The only way they’ll quit going out is when the doors to the bars are nailed shut.

OK, that happened. By order of Gov. Scott, every bar in the state was shuttered as of 2 p.m. on March 17. (That the onset of this ban coincided with Saint Patrick’s Day was a cruel irony not lost on my barroom habitués.)

And with that, I and every other cabbie, along with assorted Uberistas and Lyftites, were essentially … well, I believe “screwed” is the technical term. In this we were not alone, having been joined by a long list of our fellow citizens, primarily — though not exclusively — blue-collar types for whom “working remotely” is a nonstarter.

So, my normally brisk flow of business has been reduced to a trickle. I still get the occasional supermarket or doctor trip for a carless customer. Also, through the years, I’ve developed relationships with various local social service agencies that call on me to transport their clients. So, thankfully, I’m still getting a few of those runs, as well.

By nature, I tend to embrace risk and roll the dice. But I’m not foolhardy. It took me a while, but once I grasped the dire

threat posed by COVID-19, I took protective measures to lessen the danger for all concerned.

I removed the middle row of seating in my minivan, directing all passengers to the side sliding door and the bench seat in the way back. Which means no more folks riding shotgun until this is all over. For a gabby guy like me, this is no minor change.

I’m, like, half deaf on a good day, so now all conversations with my customers are carried on at a near yell.

the familiar click signaled his success. “I figured it out.”

Within minutes we were cruising south on the highway. The deciduous trees marking the landscape were on the cusp of budding out, the prelude to their seasonal transformation into the boundless greenery from which Vermont takes its nickname: the Green Mountain State.

Normally, this is the time of year — the nascent spring — I find most thrilling, and it’s been known to awaken the sleeping

IT TOOK SELF-CONTROL NOT TO

OFFER HIM THE SEAT NEXT TO ME. Also, by hook or by crook, I managed to acquire large-count boxes of both latex gloves and medical-grade wipes. I’m still figuring out the most effective way to deploy these two products, but I’m getting there.

When I picked up Donald Dickenson, an older gentleman living in a Franklin County schoolhouse converted into apartments, it took self-control not to offer him the seat next to me. He waved off my apology, saying, “Hey, I understand,” as he made his way into the rear seat and settled in. My mission: drive him to a doctor’s appointment in Burlington.

“What’s with these seat belts?” he asked just as I was about to shift into drive.

“I can’t seem to get mine hooked up.”

“Jeez, Don — I don’t know. Until this whole thing, folks rarely sat in those rear seats.” Unsnapping my own belt, I offered, “Lemme come back there and see what—” “Nope, never mind,” he interrupted, as

poet in me. Not this year, though. As the virus went viral, it put the damper on my sense of wonder and on most of life’s carefree pleasures.

At that moment, driving with Don on Interstate 89, I first had this thought: Everyone, including me, is going to have to consciously fight to maintain some measure of joy during this grim new reality.

“So, Don,” I bellowed over my right shoulder, “how’s life in the schoolhouse?”

“Not bad,” he replied. “It’s mostly older women, so I’m quite popular.”

“Could ya speak up a little? Sorry about that.”

“Not a problem, brother,” he said, speaking louder. “How’s this?”

“Perfect,” I replied.

“Hey, it’s just nice to be out of my apartment talking to another human being, if you know what I mean.”

“I do,” I said, chuckling. “So, are you a Vermonter by birth, Don?”

“Look at me,” he replied with a laugh.

“What do you think?”

“Hey, I make no assumptions,” I said, laughing along with him. “There are black folks who were born in Vermont.”

“Sure, but a 74-year-old black man in Swanton? Really, what are the odds?”

“OK, I suppose you’re right. So, when did you land in Vermont?”

“Well, I was born and raised up in St. Louis,” he began. “My father was a World War II vet. He was a decorated sniper, one of the very few black men to get the opportunity to do that…”

What followed was the story of Don’s life. It stretched from civil-rights-era St. Louis to an engineering job in the Pacific Northwest to meeting the love of his life — a fifth-generation Vermont girl — and settling down on her family’s dairy farm to raise a daughter.

That daughter is now in a prestigious Boston medical school and about to be deployed to care for COVID-19 patients.

She calls him every day. Don is worried about her but proud as can be.

He relayed the entire story to me at 150 percent normal volume, never faltering. I received every word as the gift that it was.

Come hell or high water or pandemics, it seems we humans will keep telling our stories to one another. It could be that storytelling is a biological imperative, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it also boosted our immune systems. m All these stories are true, though names and locations may be altered to protect privacy.

INFO Hackie is a twice-monthly column that can also be read on sevendaysvt.com. To reach Jernigan, email hackie@sevendaysvt.com.

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3/23/20 1:18 PM

STAY HOME. SLOW THE SPREAD. SUPPORT OUR HEALTH HEROES. We’re Here For You Your Health Care Needs Did Not End When COVID-19 Began.

Whether it be an illness, injury, or ongoing medical condition that needs attention, please know that our emergency departments and urgent, specialty and primary care practices across the UVM Health Network are ready to provide care safely.

Providing Care. Safely.

Our providers are also available through video and telephone visits, and in-person visits in some cases. Please know that if you need to be seen in person, we are taking precautions to minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure to our patients and staff. Find out more about video visits at UVMHealth.org/COVIDvideo.

Your Health And Wellness Is Our Priority.

If you are healthy, it’s important to prioritize your wellbeing, especially during stressful times. We continue to conduct regular wellness visits with the help of video technology. You can also find articles about staying healthy and coping with COVID-19 at UVMHealth.org/COVIDwellbeing.

#ThanksHealthHeroes Show your gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and staff on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They’re working tirelessly and selflessly, risking their health to screen, care for and protect those in need.

Let our health heroes know you’re thinking of them, appreciate them and value their help. Post messages and upload photos of your gratitude and support for staff throughout the UVM Health Network and we’ll make sure they see them.

Visit UVMHealth.org/HealthHeroes to post your message.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made all of us more thankful for the basic, important things in our lives –

things like the health and safety of our families and the support of our communities. So many people have come forward to say “thank you” and offer words of encouragement to health care workers all across the region. These simple acts mean so much. Our #ThanksHealthHeroes gratitude campaign, detailed here, is a way to keep those messages coming during these difficult times. I am inspired by, and grateful for, the strength and resilience of our UVM Health Network team and the communities we serve.

John R. Brumsted, MD President and CEO The University of Vermont Health Network Find COVID-19 updates and sign up for a weekly email from the experts at the UVM Health Network

UVMHealth.org/COVID19-7D 32

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

The Power of Social Distancing

COVID-19 FAQ’s

How staying home slows the spread Did you know that one person who has COVID-19 can spread the virus to 406 people in 30 days — and someone who is sick with no symptoms can still spread this highly contagious virus?

Nearly everyone will get COVID-19 at some point. So it’s unlikely that anything will completely stop it, which is why slowing it down is so critical.

THE POWER OF SOCIAL DISTANCING NO DISTANCING

1

PERSON INFECTED

INFECTS

50% LESS EXPOSURE

1

PERSON INFECTED

INFECTS

75% LESS EXPOSURE

1

PERSON INFECTED

INFECTS

5 DAYS

2.5

PEOPLE INFECTED

1.25

PEOPLE INFECTED

.625

PEOPLE INFECTED

30 DAYS

406

INFECTS

PEOPLE INFECTED

15

INFECTS

PEOPLE INFECTED

2.5

INFECTS

PEOPLE INFECTED

UVMHealth.org/Coronavirus

Source: UC San Diego, Signer Laboratory

How staying home flattens the curve Stretching out the rate of infection over time so that hospitals can keep up, providing respirators and other critical resources that are a matter of life and death for people at high risk; older members of our community, people with compromised immune systems or other health conditions that make them moreSTAY susceptible to infections.

HOME. SLOW THE SPREAD.

CASES

HOW SOCIAL DISTANCING SAVES LIVES Without Social Distancing

Tim Lahey, MD, an infectious diseases doctor and professor of medicine at the University of Vermont’s Larner School of Medicine and the University of Vermont Medical Center, offers his take on some of our most pressing questions, as well as some personal perspective.

Healthcare system capacity With Social Distancing TIME

UVMHealth.org/Coronavirus What you can do to slow the spread and flatten the curve

Source: CDC / The Economist

• Staying home helps slow the spread of the virus. This protects our community and reduces the burden on health care providers.

• If you are outside of your home, keep a social distance of at least 6 feet from any other people. If you have a cough, wear a mask to protect others.

• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

If you can’t wash your hands use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. And keep your hands away from your face.

• Unless it is an emergency, if you feel sick or have mild COVID-19 symptoms, please stay at home and contact your doctor by phone or through MyChart. You can also use the CDC’s Coronavirus Self-Checker to review your symptoms.

• If you need care, our emergency departments and urgent, specialty and primary care practices are ready to care for you. Video and telephone visits, and in some cases inperson visits, can be arranged.

What kind of precautions do I need to take when I return home from an essential shopping trip?

After returning from errands, I wash my hands, I wash vegetables and fruit from the market. Some health care workers, who are highly exposed to the virus on the job, are changing their clothes and shoes outside the home in order to avoid spreading COVID-19 to their families.

We don’t know if they need to, although it seems like a reasonable precaution.

Similarly, it’s unknown whether the general public, which is far less exposed, needs to take those measures.

Is it safe to eat takeout food?

It’s safest to cook your own food at home because you control the cleanliness of food production, and you aren’t coming into contact with other people out in the world.

But, if you can’t cook for yourself, or just can’t handle another peanut butter and jelly, take reasonable precautions. Wipe down containers and wash hands after pickup or delivery. Stay at least 6 feet away from other people during pickup and try to stay outside or in well-ventilated spaces. And please, pretty please, don’t get tempted to stay at or near the restaurant to eat with friends. Social distancing is the most important way we can all save a life, right now.

What kind of safety precautions do I need to take with my pet? Can we give coronavirus to each other?

The virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), came from bats, perhaps by way of a pangolin (a scaly anteater). Epidemiologists are still sleuthing in Hubei, China, to learn more. There is no sign that domestic animals can transmit COVID-19, though. Dogs and cats, etc., have surfaces that can be contaminated like any other, and so theoretically they could move the virus from a sick person to someone who is well. As a result, the CDC suggests that people who are sick (with COVID-19 or something else) have healthy people care for pets and to keep the animal away from the sick person so transmission is less likely.

We have to be realistic about things like this, though.

Dogs and cats may not understand this logic, and we may need some pet affection in a trying time.

This gets to an important point: We should take reasonable measures to lower transmission risk, but at a certain point we have to accept the risk will never be zero. We have to find a way to live our lives in the middle of an epidemic.

For more answers to your questions from Dr. Lahey and the latest information from the experts at UVM Health Network, go to UVMHealth.org/COVID19-7D SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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© DREAMSTIME.COM/FREEMANHAN2011

401 OK?

Investment adviser Dan Cunningham offers tips for staying sane in a financial crisis

BY D AN BO L L E S

N

ot so long ago, the stock market was a common small-talk starter from barstools to locker room benches. “Hey, Bob, how’s your portfolio looking?” you might say as you bellied up for a dirty martini or laced your Nikes for a round of pickleball. Bob would shrug and say something like, “Oh, you know. Up and down. Whaddya gonna do?” Then you’d both chuckle knowingly, secure in the belief that, even amid typical market fluctuations, things were going to be juuuust fine.

That, of course, was back in the halcyon days — let’s call them “February” — when you and Bob could still hit the gym or the Thirsty Moose. Then came the coronavirus pandemic, banishing people to their homes, shuttering businesses, and tanking the economy and financial markets along the way.

Now, for poor Bob and millions of Americans with a vested interest in investments, the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 have basically become four-letter words.

But just because your 401k suddenly looks more like 41K, there’s no need to 34

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

panic. OK, maybe panic for, like, a minute or two, but then take a deep breath — not around other people — and try to relax.

Then, call your financial adviser. This is what you pay them for, after all. Though hopefully you don’t pay them too much.

“You don’t want the financial people walking off with your money,” said Dan Cunningham, who is, actually, a financial person. “And they will do that very quickly if you’re not careful.”

Cunningham is the Princeton University-educated founder of One Day in July, an investment advisory firm with offices in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maryland specializing in financial planning that minimizes fees.

He recently spoke with Seven Days to share some general tips and strategies for staying sane in the face of increasingly gloomy financial forecasts.

(Note: Everyone’s financial situation is different. So, while Cunningham’s tips are generally helpful for keeping a level head in trying times, none of what follows should be taken as actionable

financial advice. For that, consult your own adviser.)

Step one, said Cunningham: Turn off CNBC. The worst thing you can do in any crisis, including financial ones, is make rash decisions based on fear. Cunningham urged ignoring financial news and paying less attention, not more, to what your investments are doing.

MONEY M EY ISSUE “Some of our wealthiest clients are people that haven’t opened their statements in years because they’re not tempted to try to outguess the market,” he said.

Cunningham cautioned that going cold turkey isn’t easy, especially for financial news junkies who are now cooped up inside. He suggested trying to go a week

without tuning into “Marketplace” or “Mad Money” or looking at your stock market app. Then aim for two weeks.

“A lot of people report back that it’s really freeing,” Cunningham said. “It’s really hard, almost like breaking an addiction. But it’s amazing how that can help psychologically at a time like this.

“Looking at the stock market once a year is plenty,” he continued. “You don’t need to do more.”

That’s because there really isn’t anything you can do about the market anyway, which brings us to step two.

“The critical thing is to focus on what you can control,” Cunningham said. In a situation that rapidly feels beyond control, that bit of advice might ring shallow at first glance. But there are things within the normal person’s power to manage — namely, financial fees.

“It is very common that fees are, in our opinion, too high,” Cunningham explained, “whether that’s from funds or from advisers or brokers themselves.”

“Asset allocation is a huge driver of return,” Cunningham said.

Though it seems counterintuitive — maybe even a tad ghoulish — he noted that economic downturns are actually ideal times to invest.

“As an investor, you’re trying to buy future cash flow for the cheapest price you

LOOKING AT THE STOCK MARKET

ONCE A YEAR IS PLENTY. DAN CU N NINGH AM

While you’re stuck at home, Cunningham advises taking a hard look at your financial statements to figure out what you’re paying in fees and how you might lower them. While you’re at it, reexamine your asset allocation to make sure each component of your portfolio is functioning as it should.

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can today,” he explained. “The only way you’re going to be able to do that is when there’s bad news.”

That’s because bad news — such as a global pandemic — drives securities prices down.

“That’s why people like Warren Buffett have done very well,” Cunningham observed. “They buy securities when they’re on sale and wait for the news to be better.”

Of course, few people have Warren Buffett-size pockets.

“It’s very easy to say that, but it’s

really tough to do it,” Cunningham admitted, acknowledging the human instinct to run for cover in hard times.

“But what you really want to be doing is, on a planned investment program, buying into the assets that now are going to have higher long-term returns,” he continued. “And bad news is what enables you to do that.”

So does having a 401k with the proper risk protections baked in. Unfortunately, according to Cunningham, not all such funds are created equally; many come loaded with fees and, worse, substandard protections against downturns.

“After 12 years of a bull market, I think a lot of people forgot about risk,” he said.

“That’s a really classic error in investment portfolios. Each part of the portfolio should have a purpose, and when the time comes to deliver the purpose, it needs to deliver.”

That’s one reason Cunningham generally recommends index funds to his clients over individual stocks. Index funds offer broad exposure to several companies at once, which creates diversification to spread out risk.

“Index funds are extremely democratic,” he said. “You do not need to start

out wealthy to become very wealthy by the time you retire.” Nor do you need to have a high-paying job to succeed with index funds, he noted. “You just need to execute certain behaviors over your life well.”

Such as, for example, developing the discipline to save money.

“A small amount of money saved in your twenties is going to be a large amount in your seventies,” he pointed out.

Even so, Cunningham advises managing your expectations, especially in tumultuous times. He suggested looking at your statement today and assuming you have 70 percent of that money. That way, he explained, you’re not surprised by dips, but if you end up with more money, it feels like a bonus.

“Reset your expectations in a crisis,” Cunningham said. “It will start to relax you, and you’ll stop worrying about the day to day.”

After all, what’s the point of a retirement investment if not to buy some peace of mind? m Contact: dan@sevendaysvt.com

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Money Shot

MONEY M EY ISSUE

Over seven years, photographer Brittany Powell documented the faces of debt B Y M ARG A RET G RAYSON

Self-portrait, “Debt Portrait #99, Middlesex, VT 2020”

D

ebt doesn’t disappear during a pandemic, and it’s a huge weight on the shoulders of those who carry it — especially if they’ve lost their jobs. Photographer Brittany Powell knows this firsthand from a previous global crisis: the economic collapse in 2008. Living in California at the time, she racked up serious debt as her gigs with clients dried up.

Powell decided to return to school for a master’s degree in fine arts, but she knew it would be impossible unless she filed for bankruptcy. So she did.

“It was a really stressful time. I was putting groceries on my credit card so I could pay my rent with cash,” Powell said.

“I associated a lot of shame with [my debt]. I really equated it to this huge sense of failure.”

Today, Powell lives in Middlesex with her husband and baby. She teaches photography at Norwich University and is associate director of the graphic design program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

It’s been seven years since she filed for bankruptcy, so the derogatory mark finally came off her personal financial record this year. During this time, Powell produced the Debt Project, photographing 99 people who were also in debt and recording their stories. The results will be published in a book this fall.

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SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

“I had no idea what it would feel like to photograph 99 people,” Powell said, reflecting on the project by phone with Seven Days. “Sometimes it was absolutely gut-wrenching … There were numerous occasions where I sat in my car afterward and sobbed, because they were such frustrating situations.”

I MET PEOPLE WHO SAID THAT THEY HAD DECIDED NOT TO HAVE KIDS,

BECAUSE THEY HAD TOO MUCH DEBT. BRIT TAN Y P O W E L L

The project began with people Powell knew or met through friends. Then she began traveling, placing ads on Craigslist or reaching out to local community organizations. Complete strangers across 18 states invited her into their homes to talk about their personal finances and be photographed.

“It was something that people thought about a lot,” Powell said, adding that most participants “had a pretty strong feeling

about what their situation was and why they were in it.” But, she said, “most of the people that volunteered, they were like, ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this.’”

Powell discovered a dichotomy in the way people spoke about their debt. Many of them recognized that the economic system was working against them, and in some cases they felt like victims. But they also often blamed themselves, at least somewhat.

“It’s definitely a catch-22. In order to obtain a certain kind of financial wealth, you actually have to take on debt,” Powell said. “There’s no other way to move forward in a lot of milestones that we’ve created in this society.”

Powell’s project was written up in the Washington Post, USA Today and Slate in 2015, which led more people to reach out to her. She applied for grants to give each participant a small honorarium for their time — $25 to $50 at various stages of the project. “[For] the majority of people, [debt is] a huge weight on their lives. It prevents them from feeling like they can move about the world in a financially free way,” Powell said. “I met people who said that they had decided not to have kids, because they had too much debt.”

The photos themselves show the subjects seated in their living rooms or at dining room tables. The wide-angle shots show part of the living area and some of the person’s possessions: bookshelves, kids’ toys, artwork. In most images, the subject looks directly into the camera.

Powell has done a lot of documentary photography in which she was a proverbial fly on the wall, observing people’s lives and chronicling everyday candid moments.

But for the Debt Project, she chose to give her subjects some control over the photo, to have some agency in how they were represented.

“I wanted people to look empowered and feel empowered,” Powell said.

Handwritten notes on debt from the subjects accompany the photos. One woman in Colorado wrote that she had student loan debt for medical school but had to drop out after a head injury. Those medical bills brought her debt total to more than $100,000. A New Hampshire man had the misfortune of graduating law school only to be laid off in the 2000 dot-com bubble crash — and then, after he went back to school, graduating again during the 2009 recession.

“Will have this debt for the rest of my life,” he wrote. “I’m 56 now.”

Robert Kuhl, “Debt Portrait #85, Bedford, NH 2020”

Powell spoke to each participant about the potential backlash of putting private financial information into the public sphere. “You’re going to have people say nasty things about you,” Powell warned them. “People have a lot of opinions about it.”

That proved true when the project was published on a news website. Powell said

one commenter wrote, “I don’t feel sorry for these people at all. That woman has a really nice couch.”

Powell’s ability to make people comfortable speaking about stigmatized topics stemmed from her own experience with debt — which isn’t entirely in the past.

Today, she has more debt than before she filed for bankruptcy, a result of graduate

Sierra Hawksley, “Debt Portrait #74, Telluride, CO 2019”

school student loans, car payments and her mortgage. Her 99th subject for the Debt Project? Herself.

“After interviewing close to 100 people about their debt, I have a totally different perspective about it,” Powell wrote to accompany the photo. “It doesn’t keep me up at night, though I realize it’s a precarious relationship and things can change in

an instant. I wish our economy functioned differently, but if you can’t beat them, join them, I guess.” m Contact: margaret@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Learn more at thedebtproject.net or on Facebook.

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Our Money, Ourselves Financial therapy helps Vermonters cope with a tanking economy STO RY BY C H E L S E A E D GAR • IL L US TR ATIO N BY S E AN ME TC A L F

R

ecently a friend admitted that, in a pandemic-anxiety-induced fugue state, she aggressively stocked up on hot sauce. “My afterschool snack was Tabasco on crackers,” she revealed. “Definitely a comfort thing.” Another friend confided that she bought a printer so she could make collages at home: “I don’t even have glue!” she lamented. Yet another confessed to purchasing a pair of Carhartt overalls, in case he found himself having to perform survivalrelated manual labor.

The coronavirus crisis has hijacked the economy and our amygdalae, sending us into a fight-or-flight tailspin that brings our dysfunctional relationships with money into embarrassing relief. Collectively, we seem to be seeking utility and comfort in erratic measure, bracing ourselves for some absurdist futurescape in which we chop down a tree for warmth and then decompress with a puzzle and three martinis.

“What we’re all looking for right now is a greater sense of control,” said Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, a wealth psychology expert based in Waitsfield. She’s one of Vermont’s two licensed members of the Financial Therapy Association, a national organization of financial and mental health professionals who specialize in the emotional, psychological and interpersonal factors that drive people’s financial behavior.

The field of financial therapy first coalesced in the 1990s with the Nazrudin Project, an informal group of financial planners who met annually to explore the connection between the psyche and the wallet. Over the decades since, the movement has attracted a wider, though not exactly mainstream, following: There are more than 86,000 certified financial planners in the country, but only 36 members in the Financial Therapy Association database.

But that small figure doesn’t capture the finance industry’s growing awareness of the synergy between emotional and financial well-being. Nor does it account for the philosophy’s early adopters, such as certified financial planner Christine Moriarty of Bristol. Through her company, MoneyPeace, Moriarty has been providing holistic counseling to her clients for almost 30 years.

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SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

Moriarty attributes financial therapy’s increased visibility to millennials, for whom the Great Recession of 2007 to ’09 and overwhelming student debt have served as cautionary tales against the perils of fiscal oblivion.

“Institutions that never would have thought about this approach before are starting to do it, because the people who are next in line to inherit assets care,” said Moriarty. “If you go to a traditional financial planner, they’ll ask you how much money you have and where it is. And if you tell them you only have $25,000 to invest, they might not even talk to you. In a holistic approach, that first meeting is about your history around money, your mistakes, your goals and dreams. I look at people’s individual roadblocks, what their life encompasses.”

Moriarty isn’t a mental health professional, and she doesn’t necessarily

identify with the “therapist” part of the financial therapist label: “I think therapists do therapy, and what we do is look at finances from the perspective of a whole person,” she said. But even the suggestion of catharsis can encourage people to be vulnerable. “If someone thinks of it as therapy, it gets them to be more honest about their struggles,” she explained.

Like Moriarty, Kingsbury embraces the idea that financial counseling should address people as whole beings; she was a licensed therapist for 15 years in Quincy, Mass., specializing in body image issues and eating disorders, before she started her wealth psychology business in 2007.

Most of her work these days involves virtual speaking engagements, webinars and consulting within the financial services sector, which includes banks, financial planners, stockbrokers and

MONEY M EY ISSUE

other entities responsible for stewarding people’s money.

Kingsbury, too, has reservations about the “financial therapist” title.

“Unfortunately, the word ‘therapy’ still has a stigma attached to it, and people think that if they go to financial therapy, they’re disordered in some way,” she said. But in her view, the disorder is endemic to the culture at large. “We live in a society where we don’t talk about money and, even now, in this unprecedented situation, it’s hard for people to do it. But it’s healthy, and we should absolutely be doing it.”

Montpelier psychotherapist Jennifer Calder, another member of the Financial Therapy Association, helps her clients untangle the roots of their subconscious attitudes toward money.

“Money represents so many things — it’s safety, security, power, influence, identity, social status,” she said. “The experiences we have as kids, and the beliefs created around money in our families, inform our decisions as adults.”

Calder has been a psychotherapist for more than two decades; in 2018, she earned a certificate in financial psychology and behavioral finance from Creighton University and launched an independent financial therapy practice.

“After hearing so many people talk about the stress and anxiety money brings into their lives, I wanted the tools to be able to help them,” Calder said. (She maintains her general psychotherapy practice and emphasized that she doesn’t cross-refer her own clients.)

People seek out Calder for numerous reasons: They’re struggling with credit card debt; they’re about to get married and want to establish healthy communication patterns around money; they’ve been married for years and have never established healthy communication around money. Unlike psychotherapy, which tends to focus on achieving emotional clarity and self-awareness over the long term, financial therapy is a solution-oriented, shorter-term process, according to Calder.

Her new clients complete an assessment of money-related beliefs and behaviors, called the Klontz Money Script Inventory, to determine their most persistent forms of financial self-sabotage. Per the assessment, these fall into

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four general categories: money avoid- everything looks horrible. Maybe you can ance, money worship, money status — still organize all your internet passwords the conflation of money with virtue and in one place. There’s always a small step prestige — and money vigilance, which you can take to feel more in control.” can manifest itself as a self-righteous But feelings have a sneaky way frugality. For some people, said Calder, of asserting themselves, despite our two or three sessions can be a sufficient best efforts to placate them with detox; others come to her sporadically well-intentioned strategies. Given the when issues flare up. magnitude of what we’re facing and As the economy has nose-dived in the unpredictability of the pandemic’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, long-range consequences, Kingsbury Calder has been helping her clients suggests that we get comfortable with manage their anxieties by gently push- emotional turbulence — and give other ing them to identify what they can people room to have bad days.

In the last two weeks of March, the control — their own spending habits, their response to fear. “When anxiety U.S. Department of Labor processed gets triggered around nearly 10 million unemployment filings, shattermoney, it usually takes ing all previous records. the form of one of two extremes: avoidance and Vermont received more overreacting,” she said. than 50,000 jobless Av o i d a n c e, s a i d claims over that same Calder, can take the period, according to form of overindulging in the state’s labor departotherwise benign activiment. For those who ties: compulsive online have recently been laid gaming, knocking back off, with limited prosIna Garten-size cosmopects of finding new jobs KATHLEEN BU RN S KIN GSB U RY politans, minding the in a still-contracting economy, the standard sourdough starter more than the sentient organisms in our lives. rhetoric of perseverance feels particuOverreacting usually takes the form of larly inadequate. obsessive monitoring — of the news, the “Everyone right now should take the stock market, the status of your 401k — time to identify what they’re feeling and and catastrophizing the information. find a way to express that. It could be The stock market’s moodiness can journaling, talking to somebody, drawbe especially terrifying: “When the ing a picture,” Kingsbury said. “I think market really started to drop, people we often try to cheer people up, but, were getting frantic and wanting to take right now, we need to validate everyall their money out,” said Calder. “So I one’s feelings, no matter what they are. encouraged them to check in with their We can’t fix this, but we can try to help financial advisers and get information, each other cope.” because information can be extremely When stocks began to plummet, helpful in giving you a sense of control.” Kingsbury found herself wanting to Kingsbury concurs that nothing good sell the extra shoes in her closet for can come from constant surveillance $20 each. “I grew up a thrifty Yankee, of the stock market. “On a day-to-day and even though I have a successful basis, nobody should worry about it,” business now, I still have this scarcity she said. “It’s not about making money mentality,” she said. “How we react in times of financial stress often has very right now — it’s a long-term strategy.”

Like Calder, Kingsbury recommends little to do with the actual numbers. It’s making a list of actionable items as always about us, the money stories we an antidote to existential wallowing. grew up with.” m “Look at your stress management strategies and consider how you Contact: chelsea@sevendaysvt.com can still do them now, given the restrictions: You can go for a walk; you can INFO call a friend. And then recognize the Learn more at kbkwealthconnection.com, things you can do right now, even if moneypeace.com and jennifercalder.com.

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MONEY M EY ISSUE

Altared Plans A pandemic leads to postponed nuptials, and revenue, in Vermont’s wedding industry

BY PAMEL A POLS TO N

W

hitney Henault and Josh Narrow into next year before the world had ever were counting down the days until heard of COVID-19. their wedding, scheduled for April What none of the wedding-cost estimates 25 at the Catamount Country Club can accurately determine are the ancillary in Williston. The couple, who live in North Wood- expenditures by wedding parties and stock, N.H., had been talking for two years about guests (average number: 140) during their getting married and planning the event for 14 stay in the state — at least one night and months, Henault told Seven Days by phone. Then often two, three or more. Think hotel rooms, came the coronavirus. And just like that, all early dinner and bar tabs, tips for servers, retail spring weddings — along with every other human shopping, recreation such as golf, even snacks gathering — were out of the question. purchased for the road trip back home.

The collective revenue that Vermont “I was really upset at first,” Henault said. “We were less than 60 days out.” But, accepting the stands to lose from multiple postponed new reality, she and Narrow quickly scrambled weddings is incalculable. However, there is to secure a new wedding date. “We began calling one good thing: It’s still early in the year. Prime in late February/early March,” she said. “We just wedding season in Vermont is July through happened to switch early, and all our vendors were October. The financial forecast would be far able to switch, too. In the end it took us two hours worse if the governor’s stay-at-home mandate to reschedule everything.” Their new were to linger into the summer. date: July 11.

The bad thing? No one yet knows Not everyone will be so lucky. that it won’t.

Given current official projections for “It’s been an exciting time,” said “flattening the curve” of the COVIDCarmine Cole with a wry chuckle.

19 pandemic, it will be a while before He’s the private function director at happy couples can make their way to Hildene in Manchester. The elegant a chapel, resort, inn or barn for their mansion and grounds once belonged idyllic Vermont nuptials. And those to Robert Lincoln, son of president holding out hope for their original Abraham Lincoln, and the historic booking in May, or even June, might estate is a destination for tourists find themselves having to look at and celebrants alike. Hildene books 2021 instead. “about 30 weddings a year, mostly between Memorial Day and Labor To be sure, some couples opt to CARMINE CO L E utter their vows for a justice of the Day weekend,” Cole said in a peace, two friends and their dog in phone call last Friday. “Yesterday, their backyard, then light up the grill. But for many eight weddings all at once postponed to late in others, weddings represent a huge investment of the year or next year.” time and money. Multiply that by 5,500 — the At Hildene, he pointed out, “it’s almost imposaverage number of weddings per year in Vermont sible to go too late because we’re an outdoor — and the math barely begins to convey the impor- venue.” tance of matrimony to the state’s economy.

Cole, who said he’s been in the hospitality Vermont’s wedding industry brings in more business 30 years — three at Hildene — was than $160 million annually — a figure that varies philosophical about the impact of the pandemic by source and some consider conservative. and the unexpected changes to life plans. “It’s out According to online index the Wedding Report, of our control; we just have to roll with it and see 5,665 weddings took place in Vermont in 2019. the positive,” he said. But he also acknowledged That site indicated the average cost was $28,936, that “everyone is anxious because they don’t know though some weddings in the state easily hit six what’s happening. It will test the mettle of these figures; Stowe-based Nancy Jeffries-Dwyer, couples.” owner of NJOY Event Planning, works with Wedding professionals are in the business of couples who drop $100,000 to $400,000 on their girding that mettle — catering to the concerns of very big day. brides, grooms and often their parents. “My job, 2020 looked like “a banner year,” said Jeffries- essentially, is to be a cheerleader,” said JeffriesDwyer, who also serves on the board of the Dwyer. Even in normal times, her clients can Vermont Association of Wedding Professionals. experience turbulent emotions. But now, “All of a “My entire industry was flooded.” Even so, like many in the wedding biz, she was already booking ALTARED PLANS » P.42

YESTERDAY, EIGHT WEDDINGS ALL AT ONCE POSTPONED

TO LATE IN THE YEAR OR NEXT YEAR.

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sudden it’s like a Mack truck [hit them],” she said.

Of 20 weddings she’s booked this year, five were in June, Jeffries-Dwyer said. Three of them have rescheduled for September, one canceled and one has moved to 2021. “One of the interesting, creative things we’re doing is convincing people that getting married on a Thursday or Sunday isn’t so bad,” she noted with a laugh. There are only so many Saturdays in wedding season, after all.

At Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, wedding coordinator Saunie Sirch said that uncertainty caused by the pandemic has left the venue operating “really day to day.” Three May weddings are still on the books, she reported last week.

In one instance, “they are all coming from Chicago and have guests from Australia,” she said. “They are hanging on to that.” In another, “a 100-person tented event, the groom is in the [National] Guard and family is in Canada.” In yet another, the bride would be coming from France.

Or not. “I think May and June are just not going to happen,” Sirch said.

Aside from disappointed wedding parties, she worries most about workers whose livelihoods depend on these events.

“The guy who sets up the wedding — he’s not going to have a job,” Sirch lamented.

Indeed, rescheduling a wedding isn’t the only challenge for the multiple vendors — caterers, photographers, florists, bands and DJs, makeup artists, limo drivers, tent companies, and many more — who are primarily self-employed individuals and small businesses. For them, a wedding moved to a future date is lost revenue in the present. And if a vendor can’t oblige a rescheduled date, that income is lost altogether.

“Any vendor is trying to get people to not cancel but postpone,” said Ben Hudson. The Shelburne-based photographer does family photography — “newborns, engagements and random things” — and shoots about 15 weddings a year. His first scheduled wedding this year, on May 23, hasn’t canceled so far.

Right now, though, vendors “are getting booked a lot earlier for 2021,” he noted.

Hudson predicted the pandemic will leave its mark on the wedding industry “for some time to come.” And next year, he added, people might be going for less extravagant events — an additional repercussion for vendors.

Newton Wells is the owner of Stowebased Peak Entertainment, a business he launched 24 years ago that employs 12 part-time workers. He said 99 percent of his business is deejaying wedding receptions. Like others in the industry, Wells reported that most of his clients have

postponed their weddings to later in the year or to 2021. Three “are still planning on their May dates,” he said, yet half of his gigs in June have evaporated.

Wells, a board member of Vermont Association of Wedding Professionals who said he knows the state wedding industry “like the back of my hand,” surmised that “some of these weddings depend on liquidity. If Mom and Dad just lost 30 percent of their retirement funds, they may not want to spend [the same amount] on a wedding.” But he was more optimistic about travel to Vermont once the ban on congregating is lifted.

“We’ve always catered to the out-ofstate, destination wedding,” Wells said.

“But most [guests] are within a day’s drive.

That’s encouraging; that might bode well for us. It’s always been good for Vermont to be in proximity to the large metro areas.”

In other words, if people are still nervous about getting on planes, they can pile into the car.

Abbey Duke, founder and CEO of Sugarsnap catering in Burlington, also reported wedding gigs deferred by months. “We’ve adjusted our payment schedule,” she said. “Usually 50 percent is due three months before the wedding.

Now, we don’t know if they can do it.”

Echoing Jeffries-Dwyer, Duke also observed a shift in wedding bookings as demand has grown for later dates. “The joke in the industry right now is, ‘Thursday is the new Saturday,’” she said. But more to the point, the challenge is to find dates on which six or seven or more chosen vendors can all agree.

“It’s like musical chairs here,” said Judy Risteff, founder of the Vermont Wedding Association, which produces several bridal shows a year around the state. She’s been fielding calls from anxious brides and doing her best to “get availability” from venues and other vendors.

VWA’s March 29 bridal show was not canceled but postponed, Risteff said, firmly exuding positivity. “We’re trying to stay as upbeat as possible,” she said. “We want to keep those brides coming.”

Risteff is not the only wedding professional who refuses to let the pandemic win. “We’ll get through it somehow — I think that’s where everyone is coming from,” said Sirch of Trapp Family Lodge.

“This is a time for us to help each other.”

Jeffries-Dwyer pointed out that the roaring twenties followed the 1918 flu pandemic. “This is the new roaring twenties,” she said. “We are going to get through this, and everybody will want to party.” m Contact: pamela@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Learn more at vermontweddings.com and vermontweddingassociation.com.

Our communities are always bustling with friends and laughter, and we love to entertain!

In light of the COVID-19 situation, we have suspended all events for the time being to tend to the health and safety of our residents.

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Untitled-12 1

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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4/6/20 9:17 AM

COURTESY OF LIZA VOLL PHOTOGRAPHY

lawyer John Gravel was chair of the board; Ernest Pomerleau of Pomerleau Real Estate was vice chair. In addition to their own contributions, they leveraged a game-changing donation of $150,000 from IBM. On September 26, 1981, the Flynn hosted an opening gala featuring performances by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the Ketch Dance Company and Lyric Theatre.

LOCAL PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES WILL RALLY TO RESURRECT THE FLYNN — NOT NATIONAL RETAILERS LIKE WALMART OR AMAZON.

NOT JUST A STAGE You can’t see a show right now at Burlington’s Flynn Center; the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the city’s iconic performing arts theater on March 13. The lovingly restored art deco hall is empty.

The nonprofit organization that runs the Flynn had to lay off 90 percent of its workforce, according to Kevin Titterton, director of marketing and communications. That includes the stage crew, box office staff and numerous arts educators; the organization hopes to bring many of them back once performances resume. “It’s a little grim right now, to be honest,” he said in a phone interview.

One source of comfort: The Flynn has overcome adversity, including two destructive floods, before. As we all stay home contemplating what our post-pandemic lives will look like, it’s 44

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

helpful to consider how the renowned cultural center — now a 1,411-seat theater, a 180-seat cabaret space, an art gallery, two education studios and a wide variety of educational programs for Vermont students — came to be.

ACT ONE Opened in 1930, the Flynn initially hosted vaudeville acts and what its first souvenir program called “sound pictures.” According to that program, the Flynn was richly appointed: “Luxurious carpets of deep pile, into which footsteps sink ... Terrazzo, inlaid with brass strips, covers

the floors of the lobby and men’s smoking room.”

By the 1970s, though, its glamour had faded. The Flynn had become a down-at-the-heels movie theater showing “adult” films. “Tawdry” is the adjective former executive director Andrea Rogers used to describe it at that point.

The effort to restore and improve the downtown landmark came from the all-volunteer Lyric Theatre, which had begun producing shows on the Flynn’s neglected main stage in 1974.

The University of Vermont donated its expertise in historic preservation; the funding came largely from local businesses. When the nonprofit Flynn Theatre for the Performing Arts was formed in 1980 to buy the building,

The event program listed donors large and small, along with the members of at least a dozen volunteer committees.

And it was packed with ads from local businesses — Pizzagalli Construction, Expressions, Michael Kehoe, the Rusty Scuffer, Lake Champlain Ferries, the Shoe Horn, Nan Patrick, Champlain Cable Corp., Nectar’s.

In the same program, Rogers acknowledged the “exciting moment, this rebirth” while preparing the local audience for improvements still to come: “The marquee and the front entrance have been lovingly painted and restored, and we’ve brought in lots of props to make the lobbies look and feel elegant. But the performers still have no dressing rooms, no bathrooms, no proper lighting, and the technical crews are working with 1930s rigging.”

ACT TWO That dream had to be delayed longer than expected. Just a few months after the opening, on a cold January night in 1982, the building’s boiler failed, triggering the sprinkler system.

Rogers rushed to the scene early the next morning. “When we went into the theater, there was water in the orchestra pit, water raining down

Learn more about supporting the Flynn Center at flynncenter.org.

P R O D U C E D B Y 7 D B R A N D S T U D I O — P A I D F O R B Y P O M E R L E A U R E A L E S TAT E

How can you help local businesses?

Restaurants, retailers and other businesses play a vital role in our community, and right now, they’re struggling.

Restoring the Flynn’s marquee in the 1980s

Order from a local restaurant.

Find Vermont restaurants offering takeout, delivery and curbside service at Seven Days’ new directory, updated daily: goodtogovermont.com.

Buy a gift card or season pass.

Buy a gift card or season pass — or become a member. For example, Flynn membership begins at $50 a year and includes discounts and advance ticketing opportunities.

Shop local online.

Some Vermont retailers are still fulfilling orders through their websites and even offering discounts on in-state delivery.

Call a local store to get the latest info.

Don’t just rely on online information or social media — pick up the phone. During the coronavirus chaos, many small businesses don’t have time to update their websites.

Pay a little extra to support a local retailer.

Consider it an investment in your community. Think you found a better deal on Amazon? Ask yourself: When was the last time Amazon donated to local charities or sponsored local events?

What are you doing to break the Amazon habit?

Share your story about buying local with this hashtag or by visiting sevendaysvt.com/savelocalvt. You’ll be entered to win a gift card to a local restaurant or store — extra credit for creativity! Dazzle us, and we’ll publish your contributions to inspire your neighbors.

#SaveLocalVT

Before you buy...

THINK LOCAL • SHOP LOCAL • ACT LOCAL • SAVE LOCAL from the beautiful light fixtures,” she recalled.

It was a major setback, for sure, and cruelly timed. But the local community rallied. People who had already given generously to the restoration effort reached back into their pockets — and hearts — to donate money and time to make the needed

improvements. Two months after the damage, the Vienna Boys Choir performed to a sold-out crowd. It was the first of many shows that have moved Vermont audiences to their feet and put the state on the cultural map. Rogers led the organization until she retired in 2010.

Her successor, John Killacky,

stayed for eight years; he’s now in the Vermont legislature representing South Burlington.

What Killacky loved most was seeing schoolchildren visit for student matinees, “especially the little ones, their little heads just poking over the tops of the seats.” He remembered watching a pair of students walking

TO ME, THE ARTS ARE WHERE HOPE LIVES. John Killacky, former Flynn Center executive director up the aisle on their way out of a show. “Those were real live people up there,” one said to the other. “I thought, That person’s world has just been changed by the Flynn,” he said.

Those young people sometimes return. Killacky recalled watching Grace Potter perform in October 2011 for “Goodnight Irene: A Flood Benefit.”

The Waitsfield native told the audience she attended shows at Flynn as a child and imagined herself up on the stage someday. “She said, ‘I’m so glad to be able to be here and to give back,’” Killacky recalled.

That same giving spirit will help Vermonters get through this hard time.

Local people and businesses will rally to resurrect the Flynn — not national retailers like Walmart or Amazon.

It’s vital work, according to Killacky.

“To me,” he said, “the arts are where hope lives. For 90 years, the Flynn has delivered inspiration to millions of Vermonters. I can’t wait for the lights to go on again.” ■ THIS ARTICLE WAS COMMISSIONED AND PAID FOR BY:

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

45

food+drink

Farmers To You founder Greg Georgaklis

AP/TOBY TALBOT

Farmers Marketing Vermont-grown produce is a hot commodity in hard times B Y S A LLY POL L AK

46

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

SALLY POLLAK

I

n the last week of March, Pete’s Greens produce farm in Craftsbury sold about 35,000 pounds of root vegetables, roughly double the farm’s weekly distribution of storage crops, owner Pete Johnson said.

The organic farm he started 21 years ago is also experiencing a surge in its CSA business, the part of the farm that sells vegetables and other locally produced food directly to consumers. About 200 families joined the farm’s Good Eats CSA in the last two weeks of March, bringing the membership to about 600 families, according to Pete’s Greens. And more people keep joining.

“It’s just been nutty, I didn’t really expect it,” Johnson said last week by phone. “It’s been really great, actually, if we can keep the wheels on. It’s pretty challenging.”

The increased demand for food from Pete’s Greens and other Vermont growers coincides with — and is attributable to — the first reports of the coronavirus in Vermont, according to farmers and other agriculture experts.

Vern Grubinger, vegetable and berry specialist for University of Vermont Extension, cautioned that it’s too early to evaluate or draw conclusions about the growing interest in local produce. He

Weekly farm share from Pete’s Greens

added that there’s no data to explain why more people appear to want locally grown food. But the phenomenon, he said, “seems like a bit of a silver lining to this horrible pandemic situation.”

“One can assume that people feel local food is safe,” Grubinger said, adding that the “pandemic has raised some concerns” about the food distribution system.

“It’s nice to know we have a local supply, and I think people want to support that by supporting local farms,” Grubinger said. In addition, he noted, “when you have a direct relationship with growers, or know the [food’s] point of origin is in your state, it provides a level of confidence that people appreciate.”

Christa Alexander, who owns Jericho Settlers Farm with her husband, Mark Fasching, said CSA spring membership sign-ups have doubled in the past couple of weeks. Business at their Jericho farm store has increased by a factor of eight.

“In some ways, it saddens me that people are so scared and they’re finding local food because of that,” Alexander said. “But I’m also heartened that they will really appreciate the quality and the nutritional value of the food and the local economy that they’re contributing to — and stick with it.”

Farmers are adept at confronting challenging and changing circumstances in their work. They’re accustomed to making fast adjustments related to factors such as weather and labor. But growing and distributing food during a pandemic presents particular — and unprecedented — challenges. Chief among them is attempting to ensure the well-being of employees who work on the farm and are doing so under trying conditions.

“There’s a lot of worry and stress,” Johnson said. “It’s tricky. There’s a whole lot of background noise right now.”

Anson Tebbetts, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, said people who are getting food “from the farm to the fork” — including growers, truck drivers and grocery clerks — are among the “silent heroes” of the crisis.

“As we work our way through this whole thing, I think there will be opportunities to reset and reevaluate,” Tebbetts said. “And one thing that’s clear over the last three weeks: Agriculture is so valuable. We have a food system in Vermont that I think could be, and is, very valuable to us.”

Even so, as opportunities arise for some produce farmers, the dairy market is in decline. Recently, some Vermont dairy farmers have had to dump milk because markets for it are gone, he said.

“It’s heartbreaking to think that we’ve got this wonderful, wholesome product

BUSINESS AT THE JERICHO SETTLERS FARM STORE

HAS INCREASED

BY A FACTOR OF EIGHT.

Among various models for purchasing local food is an online business called Farmers To You, founded 10 years ago by Greg Georgaklis of Calais. He’s a former horticulture farmer who moved to central Vermont from New Hampshire to start a farm but got “sidetracked when my farming friends said I needed to do this instead,” he explained.

His Berlin-based business aggregates local products — including grains, vegetables, cheese, milk, fruit and bread — from about 100 farms and producers. The food is distributed to customers in Vermont and greater Boston who place weekly orders online.

In the three weeks since the pandemic erupted in New England, business at Farmers To You increased from 800 orders per week to 1,250, Georgaklis said. The company has 60 employees, many of whom are part time; it had 40 three weeks ago.

“We’re all stumbling around here,” Georgaklis said. “It’s been pretty wild.”

FARMERS MARKETING

» P.48

SIDEdishes

Curbside pick-up available

SERVING UP FOOD NEWS

BY JORDAN BARRY

Ground Support VIVID COFFEE ROASTERS ESTABLISHES BARISTA RELIEF FUND

Vermont’s service industry is facing unprecedented levels of unemployment as the result of shutdowns and loss of business due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As restaurants, bars and cafés adapted to takeout-only business models last month — or closed entirely to ride out the crisis — many were forced to trim their payroll, and food-service employees were laid off en masse.

Both in Vermont and nationally, industry groups have stepped up to support these workers financially. Among them is VIVID COFFEE ROASTERS: The Winooskibased business is donating $2 per bag from each online coffee sale to baristas at its partner cafés who are out of work.

“Vivid exists because of our wholesale partners,” owner IAN BAILEY told Seven Days via Zoom. “The baristas are really the best advocates for Vivid and for our coffee. My business is only as good as the people who are partnering with the product, caring for it and serving it on an everyday basis to their local café communities.”

Bailey started to think about the idea of a relief fund as soon as his first wholesale account — Little Woodfords in Portland, Maine — announced their plans to close.

Locally, Vivid’s accounts with CATALYST COFFEE BAR in St. Albans, ROYAL OAK COFFEE in Middlebury and ONYX TONICS SPECIALTY COFFEE in Burlington are all still open, but the shift to curbside-only service and a statewide stay-at-home mandate has significantly reduced business. SCOUT & CO. and NEW MOON CAFÉ are temporarily closed.

As a result, Vivid’s online sales are increasing — including a newly established coffee subscription option. It only made sense, Bailey said, to use revenue from that sales channel to give back.

Bailey reached out to the owners of his wholesale partner cafés, creating an opt-in list of the Venmo usernames of baristas who have lost their jobs. He will send out equal distributions from the fund — which he currently estimates to be close to $1,000 — every two weeks.

Bailey is planning the first distribution for later this week, once he’s sure the list of affected baristas is complete.

THE ARTFUL WORD WEDNESDAYS > 9:00 p.m.

8 SO. MAIN STREET ST. ALBANS

524-3769 Ian Bailey of Vivid Coffee Roasters

16t-railcitymarket040120.indd 1

JORDAN BARRY

that there isn’t a market for,” Tebbetts commented.

By contrast, among vegetable farmers, Grubinger cited indicators of an expanding market: Wholesale growers of storage crops such as potatoes have reported sales comparable to Thanksgiving week; a farm in north-central Vermont had newmember CSA sign-ups worth $25,000 in less than a week.

Kim Mercer, communications manager at the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, said her organization is aware of 12 farms that started a CSA or expanded an existing one in a week.

Locally grown food provides a “sense of insurance” when the national food supply appears “brittle,” she said.

“If you have a farm in your town that has a farmstand, when you go there you’re really voting for a strong local food system, which we see that we need,” Mercer said. “It’s completely clear now that it’s vital.”

WE’RE OPEN!

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CHANNEL 15

“I don’t know what stage of the process everyone is at with unemployment,” Bailey said. “I just know there’s a WEDNESDAYS > 7:30 P.M. need, and it felt right to stay connected to them in this way.”

GET MORE INFO OR Bailey isn’t accepting outside donaWATCH ONLINE AT tions for Vivid’s relief fund for logistical VERMONTCAM.ORG reasons, he said, but he encouraged community members who want to support their baristas to look to their 16T-VCAM040820.indd 1 4/6/20 local cafés, many of which have set up crowdfunding pages or virtual tip jars for their employees.

“Buying a gift certificate or merch online is a great way to support these businesses and make sure they are able to reopen and rehire, too,” he said.

In addition to the barista relief efforts, Vivid is also using 100 percent of the sales of its Winooski Dome hats to purchase grocery gift cards for the Winooski School District to distribute to families in need.

PROMISES OF GOD

10:40 AM

National nonprofits are ramping up direct assistance for unemployed industry workers, too. A relief program through the nonprofit RESTAURANT WORKERS’ COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

is offering financial assistance to individual restaurant workers who fill out a needs-based application. The foundation is not based in Vermont, but Vermonters are eligible to apply.

The UNITED STATES BARTENDERS’ GUILD NATIONAL CHARITY FOUNDATION has also established a COVID-19 emergency assistance relief campaign, open to bartenders who meet the program’s requirements regardless of USBG membership. The VERMONT BARTENDERS’ GUILD is directing its members seeking financial assistance, as well as anyone looking to donate to the cause, to the national fund. m SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020 8V-commondeer040820.indd 1

47 4/3/20 5:22 PM

Participants Needed for a Research Study on the Brain

food+drink

Mark Fasching, Christa Alexander and their children

Farmers Marketing « P.47

From our family to yours,

thinking of friends, patrons and loved ones.

We are committed to community and looking forward to a time when we can all break bread together again.

Fire & Ice

NEW HOURS for Curbside Pickup

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SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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COURTESY OF CAROL SULLIVAN

Farmers To You currently has a waiting list of about 900 families in the Boston area, he noted. Business has grown primarily via word of mouth.

“Our families are incredibly loyal, and they talk us up a lot,” Georgaklis said.

Healthy, non-smoking participants “You can imagine that went crazy. It just (18-30 years old) needed for a 4 visit went nuts.”

UVM study on a chemical system in the He called the pandemic a “forced healthy brain. Participants will receive $400 for completion of the study. opportunity.”

With your financial GIVE “We knew it would take something Contact us at 847-8248 or support, we’ll keep pretty dramatic to change people’s TODAY! brainage@uvm.edu. delivering and making behavior around food and food purchassense of the news.

CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH UNIT ing,” Georgaklis continued. “Food is our medicine. Our farmers up here are really SEVENDAYSVT.COM/SUPER-READERS way ahead of the curve. We’re so spoiled OR CALL COREY GRENIER AT 865-1020, EXT. 36 in Vermont.”

Just a few weeks into the buying frenzy, a question raised by several farm12v-uvmdeptpsych-Brainstudy062718.indd 1 6/28/18 12v-countonyou-SR.indd 11:38 AM 3 3/24/20 4:49 PM ers is whether the interest in local food will remain after the crisis subsides.

Johnson, who said he’s had to turn down wholesale business recently (but welcomes new CSA members), recognizes a “tremendous pent-up potential in the Vermont farming community.”

Still, he thinks the boon will be “relatively short-term.”

“I doubt in two years we’re going to be saying we’re selling 50 percent more ever since the coronavirus thing,” Johnson said. “I think it would be surprising if it were a societal change.”

In Brookfield, Kyle Doda of 1000 Stone Farm said business at his farm store, which he opened last summer, doubled in recent weeks. “That’s been a gift to us and the community,” he said.

Vermont’s Iconic Dinnerhouse New precautions are in place at the 26 Seymour Street | Middlebury | 802.388.7166 | fireandicerestaurant.com rural store: a one-customer limit inside, and curbside pickup on Fridays for customers who don’t want to enter the 6H-fire&ice032520.indd 1 3/20/20 3:52 PM store. With spring planting coming, Doda questions how long the bump in business will last.

“When the money-making machine turns on, when capitalism kicks back in, SATURDAY - MONDAY will our communities across the nation Dinner only: 4:30- 8:30pm just go back to their old ways?” he asked.

“What kind of retention rate will we WEDNESDAY - FRIDAY see for local farms? If we saw even a 10 Lunch: 11:30am - 2:30pm percent retention rate of what we’re Dinner: 4:30 - 8:30PM seeing now, it would change the world.”

Vermont growers, Grubinger said, “by CLOSED TUESDAYS and large have the capacity to meet an Call to place your order and pay increased demand.” via credit card. Thank you for your support!

He added that local farmers have established significant pre-pandemic tinythaiwinooski food safety measures and innovations.

These include improvements to winter storage facilities, where careful attention to temperature and humidity levels increases the shelf life of stored products.

Growers have developed their own 24 Main Street, Downtown Winooski, 655-4888 • tinythairestaurant.net accreditation program, called Community

Accreditation for Produce Safety, a peerreviewed food-safety program operated

by UVM Extension under the direction of the Vermont Vegetable and Berry Growers Association. Participation in the program has expanded from two dozen growers in 2015 to 127 last year, Grubinger said.

“Vermont growers have really been dialed in to food safety for quite a while now,” he said.

And they have adapted quickly to the pandemic by implementing new sanitation protocols, building online marketing and practicing “no-touch delivery.”

In Bennington, the farmers market moved to a drive-through model in late March and filled about 100 orders for local food in the first week. At the April 4 market, business more than doubled to over 200 orders from 140 people, according to organizers. Customers drive up and pop their trunks, and a worker places their food in the car.

“They should be applauded for feeding their community and doing it on the fly,” Tebbetts said of the Bennington market.

Last week, this reporter picked up a Pete’s Greens CSA share from boxes set under a tree in a Burlington parking lot.

The site was both carefully chosen and on the fly: The building where Pete’s Greens usually delivers is closed under the governor’s stay-at-home directive.

The share included fresh spring chard — a mood booster even in normal times — and two heads of cabbage that look and taste like they were picked yesterday.

Johnson said the cabbage was harvested in late October. He called it “pretty amazing.”

Contact: sally@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Learn more at petesgreens.com, jerichosettlersfarm.com, farmerstoyou.com and 1000stonefarm.com.

Support Your Community:

Get It To-Go!

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Vermont restaurants are off-limits to dine-in customers for the foreseeable future, but they are still making delicious food — for TAKEOUT, DELIVERY or CURBSIDE PICKUP. Adult beverage with that? Liquor-license-holding Vermont restaurants can also sell take-out wine, beer and spirit-based drinks for off-site consumption. Drink up! And don’t forget to buy GIFT CARDS! Check GoodToGoVermont.com to see what your favorite eatery is serving up.

G O O D T O G O V E R M O N T . C O M 1T-GoodToGoVermont-032520.indd 1

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3/24/20 5:04 PM

currently no

music+nightlife

Mark Daly

S UNDbites

News and views on the local music + nightlife scene

BY D AN BOLLE S

God Bless Amerykanka

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

COURTESY OF REBECCA MACK

50

COURTEEY OF LEXIE DALY

When historians sit down to write the story of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Vermont, they’ll have to come up with some kind of catchy name for Friday, March 13. Maybe “Black Friday” or “The Day the Music Died” or, um, “Friday the 13th.” (Yeah, we’ll workshop that.)

If you recall, that was the day when most area performing arts organizations, nightclubs, production companies and presenters started postponing and canceling shows in earnest, responding to fears about the spread of the virus.

By the middle of the following week, “most” venues and promoters became “all.” And just like that, months of live performances of all sizes and kinds were wiped off the calendar.

By the next weekend, March 20 to 22, local musicians and comedians had begun migrating their performances online through livestream events, broadcasting from living rooms, kitchen tables, bedsides, basements or, in the case of at least one local songwriter, the bathroom — hey, tubs and tiles make for good acoustics. Especially as we struggle to adapt to our new homebound isolation, those humble little shows have proved to be as comforting as they are entertaining. But, unfortunately, not even livestream shows are immune to the coronavirus.

Vermont vocal ensemble AMERYKANKA were scheduled to perform a livestream concert at Congregation Ruach haMaqom, a synagogue in Burlington, on April 4. But the Eastern European folk music group was forced to abort that show when leader REBECCA MACK was diagnosed with COVID-19 in late March. There’s no way of knowing for sure, but it’s a good bet that Amerkanka’s performance was the first local livestream concert canceled by the coronavirus.

In a phone call, Mack, who lives in Burlington with her partner and

children — all of whom are healthy, BTW — reported that she’d had flu-like symptoms for a while before she was finally eligible to be tested. She said dry cough, body aches and, most notably, fever were among her symptoms.

“It was crazy fever,” she said. “Fever with the most strange and beautiful dreams.”

Mack said she can normally remember dreams if she writes them down shortly after waking. But her fever dreams were on a different level entirely.

“It was a completely different quality of dreaming, like Technicolor,” she explained. “And I can still remember them. I could write songs about them right now.”

When Seven Days spoke with Mack last week, she said she was feeling much better, aside from some fatigue and mild shortness of breath. But, she noted, those lingering symptoms actually have come in rather handy of late.

“It’s helping me quarantine really effectively,” she said with a chuckle.

In addition to her vocal talents, Mack is a harpist. She’s been using the down time to get in some practice. Her new daily routine involves making her bed in the morning, then placing the bottom of her harp on a pillow on the bed and laying down to play it.

“The other day I played myself to sleep,” she said. (Side note: I now want to take up the harp for the sole purpose of playing myself to sleep, because that sounds, well, heavenly.)

Otherwise, Mack has busied herself with a variety of artistic and musical endeavors, including LOOP GLOSS, a looping and found-sound project with her partner, MAL MAÏZ bassist JOHN THOMPSON-FIGUEROA. Their latest composition is built around automated National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather reports from a marine radio and a piano.

“It’s really soothing and weird to listen to,” she said of the clipped, robotic cadence of the NOAA forecasts.

Amerykanka

Bo nu s

GOT MUSIC NEWS? MUSIC@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

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Brainiac place, it might be largely written in the China's ___ 57. Noah's landfall 23. “Back in the this: a brand-new MADAILA record. And fall, save for one song Daly penned Xiaoping 62. Gutter locale ___” if four good things come out of these under quarantine. He described the EP Hawaiian 26.10.

Desert site 63. PIN seemingly endless, soul-numbing days — accurately, based on rough mixes he greetings 27.

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Something Locks up brand-new Madaila records. record.” Indeed, the record evokes whizhazy, dreadful “But, Dan,” you’re probably scoffing 1960s California folk-rock, but cut with 12.

Stevenson of 67. Cache 34. Stepping places out loud right now to no one but the the sticky hooks that have been Daly’s Illinois 68. "Terrible" czar dog, “Madaila broke up. I know you haven’t written Soundbites in a while, but you’re way out of the loop, guy.”

It’s true: I haven’t, and I am — but please don’t call me guy. And you’re right, Madaila did break up, last year’s reunion show notwithstanding. But I have it on good authority that new Madaila records, plural, are coming, and soon.

Madaila founder and front person MARK DALY has been hard at work on a suite of EP-length releases, the first of which, West, is due out imminently.

“Once it’s done, we’re just gonna put it out,” said Daly, estimating that the EP will hit our ears by the second

signature since his CHAMBERLIN days.

Imagine him writing tunes for the BYRDS or POCO, and you’re in the ballpark.

That geographic stylistic fusion is basically the idea behind the four-EP cycle. Each will be named for a point on the compass and reflect certain musical sensibilities from those regions.

“The concept is if Madaila were birthed in this part of the world, or this city, what would it sound like?”

Daly explained. Each record will be “vastly different,” he added, but still have “cohesion within the Madaila sound.” Next up is South, Daly said, which will be “a 180 from what West sounds like.”

36. Actress Graff 37. Neth. neighbor 40. Viscera container 43. “Absolutely!”

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Bachelor's last "Desperate 6. Celestial altar 50. Small amount words Housewives" 7. “Vive le ___!”

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Extremities 67. Cache 30. ___ trip 68. “Terrible” czar Former speaker 69.32.

Drugs, briefly Nancy 70. Attack 71.33.

G.O.P. rivals abbr.

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52

Father Figuer, Transitions (SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL)

In a 2016 interview with the Austin Chronicle, DIIV front person Zachary Cole Smith stated his purpose for composing music: “The music I’m writing now, it’s more about drawing eyes back to us and trying to make something that makes the case for guitar music again.” As a listener who’s moved by the guitar-heavy stylings of moody postrock bands such as Red Sparowes and shoe gazers such as HUM, I’m thankful that groups such as DIIV and Burlington slowcore band Father Figuer are committed to the cause.

Transitions, the latter’s debut LP released on February 29, is an aural bath of electric guitar with varying tones, textures and rhythms driven by guitarists and singers Caroline Franks and Erin White. Throughout the 11 songs

Sasha Travis, No Going Back (SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL)

Sasha Travis is a triple threat from Vermont by way of Russia. He is a naturally talented rapper, a prolific producer (as NOtation) and an accomplished musician. Travis is especially formidable on the trumpet, which makes several appearances on his latest EP, No Going Back. Drawing on his considerable experience, the multitalented artist’s seven-song collection highlights a diverse skill set in perfect balance.

Travis has been making his mark on the local scene for so many years now, it’s hard to believe he’s only 23. He’s worked with many of the 802’s finest talents: Es-K, Asah Mack, David Chief, Chyse, Loupo — the list goes on. In No Going Back, the collaborations are mostly limited to coproductions, including two with EDM/hip-hop powerhouse FlyWlkr. This is all Travis’ show, and it’s a deeply personal project.

As you might guess from the title, the unifying theme is his dedication to music — and all the costs that come with

on the Queen City quartet’s album, the pair’s individual instruments coexist cohesively.

The interplay is particularly satisfying in the album’s lone upbeat song “never Ü,” where distinct tones highlight what each player is creating separately and together. The interaction between Franks’ and White’s guitars is an engaging focal point from start to finish — deliberate dissonance and all.

A strong and steady rhythm section of drummer Elise Albertini and bassist David Roche ground the guitar work in a firm foundation. Former member Charity Beckert also plays bass on three songs and contributed to the composition of all of the album’s bass lines.

Franks and White share lead singing duties, taking the mic on the songs that they individually conceived. Vocals tend to be buried, and lyrics take a back seat to guitar work. Nonetheless, a few lines stand out.

In “source amnesia,” written and sung

by White, the singer is no longer willing to perform emotional labor for someone who’s behaving shittily: “Eat your anger somewhere else / ’cause there’s a math to how you’re dying / and I’m sick of multiplying your sins for you.”

Two instrumental selections composed by Franks, “from time to time” and “close,” are high points — particularly the latter. The heavy distortion and driving rhythm could make even the most conservative Karen throw devil horns.

Tracks were recorded live, and songs were mostly mixed by Franks.

White mixed the shoe-gaze funeral dirge “voyager” and the darkly plodding “1945.” Franks made the master at the University of Vermont recording studio.

Transitions took about a year to make, and its songs incubated for three.

Father Figuer’s attention to detail and ownership over their work is clear. The best part? It still rocks.

Transitions is available at fatherfiguer. bandcamp.com, as well as Spotify and other digital streaming services.

it. Which is not to imply that the EP is a heavy slog. Rather, the project is a celebration of both the bright spots and the hard times.

On album opener “Why,” Travis vents his frustration with the “fake love” that permeates the music industry. Yet it’s also about how he stays grounded: He relies on his faith in his own talents, his love for the art and, especially, the support of his family. “Just bought my mom a bouquet,” he raps, “cuz I ain’t gonna wait for doomsday.”

Since his teen years, Travis has been a showstopping talent on the mic, but he’s never been preoccupied with proving it.

Take “Too Late,” where he reminisces on “all the times I had to sleep on the couch,” or the biting anthem “FTC.,” which stands for “Fuck the Clout.” He’s effortlessly in the pocket on both, switching up flows and styles to huge effect, but always in service of the song.

On the catchy banger “Vivid Dreams,” Travis swaps bars with Prettyboy Kelsey.

Their chemistry is fantastic, and it comes naturally. Kelsey is a rapper from

Massachusetts — surprising, considering he sounds like 2 Chainz. But the two artists met years ago as students at Full Sail University, the noted music production school in Florida. Indeed, “Vivid Dreams” sounds like two old friends having a blast Closing act “Far Away” is perhaps the strongest cut of this short, potent set.

The lush song showcases Travis’ vision as a producer, with each movement conveying real feeling.

Bonus: a killer trumpet solo.

For all the radio-ready polish on this project, Travis has evolved into a unique artist. And it’s not just about the horn chops and production savvy. He plays with hip-hop idioms like an outsider, but he’s smart enough to make it all his own.

Every track sounds like a million bucks.

Accessibly commercial and delightfully idiosyncratic, No Going Back is Travis’ best work to date.

No Going Back is available at soundcloud.com/sashatravis and on Spotify.

GET YOUR MUSIC REVIEWED: SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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3/17/20 7:06 PM

KRISTEN RAVIN

JUSTIN BOLAND

ARE YOU A VT ARTIST OR BAND? SEND US YOUR MUSIC! DIGITAL: MUSIC@SEVENDAYSVT.COM; SNAIL MAIL: MUSIC C/O SEVEN DAYS, 255 S. CHAMPLAIN ST., SUITE 5, BURLINGTON, VT 05401

Virtual art and activities curated

by Burlington City Arts, keeping our community together through the arts.

Navigate virtual gallery tours from current and past exhibitions and download art-making activity guides

Visit artists’ studios for tours and demonstrations

Engage with the arts community by sharing your own projects and ideas Visit burlingtoncityarts.org/homestudio for a full directory of home art activities 4T-BCA040820 1

Erin Dupuis

4/6/20 11:33 AM

Downtown St. Albans

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SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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3/24/20 4:14 PM

CLASS PHOTOS + MORE INFO ONLINE SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSES

classes 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.

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You will leave this course career ready, knowing every step of the design process. Jun. 8-Aug. 28., Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Location: Burlington Code Academy, 182 Main Street, Suite 305, Burlington. Info: Sadie Goldfarb.

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DJEMBE & TAIKO: JOIN US!: Digital classes starting March 30!

(No classes on-site for now.) Taiko: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Djembe: Wednesday. Kids and Parents: Tuesday and Wednesday.

Private digital conga lessons by appointment. Let’s prepare for a future drum gathering outdoors! Schedule/register online.

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54

language LEARN SPANISH LIVE & ONLINE: Broaden your world. Learn Spanish online via live video conferencing. High-quality affordable instruction in the Spanish language for adults, students and children. Travelers

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ONLINE ART & FRENCH CLASSES: WINGSPAN STUDIO: Let’s Get Creative: the name of the quarantine. Wingspan offers art and French options for all ages/levels.

Merci for supporting this small biz; sliding scale available. Full

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Gracie Sr.: teaching in Vermont, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A five-time Brazilian National Champion; International World Masters Champion and IBJJF World Masters Champion.

Accept no Iimitations! Location: Vermont Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 55 Leroy Rd., Williston. Info: 5982839, julio@bjjusa.com, vermontbjj.com.

yoga EVOLUTION YOGA: Now offering online classes.

Practice yoga with some of the most experienced teachers and therapeutic professionals in Burlington, from the comfort of your home.

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10/29/19 3:50 PM

Whiskahs

A very spirited cat who loves hamming it up for the camera!

Humane

Society of Chittenden County

COURTESY OF KELLY SCHULZE/MOUNTAIN DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

Note: In adherence to Gov. Phil Scott’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order, in-person operations for nonessential business and nonprofits throughout the state have been suspended.

While animal shelters are exempt from this order, we feel strongly that HSCC has a responsibility to our staff and community members to do our part in helping to flatten the curve and slow the spread of COVID-19.

At this time, pet adoptions remain on hold, and we are not accepting new applications by potential adopters. Thanks to an overwhelming response from our community, most of the animals in our care are now staying in loving foster homes, and some have even been officially adopted by their foster families. If you have already submitted a profile for an animal, please know that our small staff is working hard to process these applications and will be in touch. For full details on HSCC’s latest COVID-19 update, please visit our website. We can’t wait to get back to work helping you find your new furry family members!

housing »

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The worms — which can grow as big as 1 foot in length! ­— circulate in the bloodstream and can eventually obstruct the flow of blood to the heart and lungs. Heartworm is easier to treat in dogs than in cats, but prevention is key for all of our furry friends. Talk to your veterinarian about the best plan of action for your pet!

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APARTMENTS, CONDOS & HOMES

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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

56

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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

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INSTRUCTION ANDY’S MOUNTAIN MUSIC Online lessons available!

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ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION #4C0959-3 10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6093 On March 20, 2020, Vern & Rachel Hutchins, 363 Riverview Drive, Charlotte, VT 05445 and Jason & Tiffany Hutchins, 328 Riverview Drive, Charlotte, VT 05445 filed application number 4C0959-3 for a project generally described as several boundary adjustments to existing lots 1, 4 and 5, along with creation of new lot 6, all within an existing PRD. Construction of a single family home on lot 6 is not authorized until a permit amendment is issued for this purpose. The Project is located at 328 and 363 Riverview Drive in Charlotte, Vermont.

The District 4 Environmental Commission is reviewing this application under Act 250 Rule 51—Minor Applications.

A copy of the application and proposed permit are available for review at the office listed below.

The application and a draft permit may also be viewed on the Natural Resources Board’s web site (http://nrb.vermont. gov) by clicking on “Act 250 Database” and entering the project number “4C0959-3.”

No hearing will be held and a permit may be is-

sued unless, on or before April 23, 2020, a person notifies the Commission of an issue or issues requiring the presentation of evidence at a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1) may request a hearing.

Any hearing request must be in writing to the address below, must state the criteria or sub-criteria at issue, why a hearing is required and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing.

Any hearing request by an adjoining property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. Prior to submitting a request for a hearing, please contact the district coordinator at the telephone number listed below for more information. Prior to convening a hearing, the Commission must determine that substantive issues requiring a hearing have been raised.

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

If you feel that any of the District Commission members listed on the attached Certificate of Service under “For Your Information” may have a conflict of interest, or if there is any other reason a member should be disqualified from sitting on this case, please contact the District Coordinator as soon as possible, and by no later than April 23, 2020.

If you have a disability for which you need accommodation in order to participate in this process (including participating in a public hearing, if one is held), please notify us as soon as possible, in order to allow us as much time as possible to accommodate your needs.

Parties entitled to participate are the Municipality, the Municipal Planning Commission, the Regional Planning Commission, affected state agencies, and adjoining property owners and other persons to the extent that they have a particularized interest that may be affected by the proposed project under the Act 250 criteria.

Non-party participants may also be allowed under 10 V.S.A. Section 6085(c)(5).

Calcoku View and post up to SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSIFIEDS Using the enclosed math operations as per a guide, fill 6 photos ad online.

Dated at Essex Junction, Vermont this 25th day of March, 2020.

By: Stephanie H. Monaghan, District Coordinator, 111 West Street, Essex Junction, VT 05452, 802-879-5662, Stephanie.monaghan@ vermont.gov ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION #4C1006-2A 10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6093 On March 19, 2020, Colchester School District, 125 Laker Lane, Colchester, VT 05446 and Town of Colchester Public Works Department, 781 Blakely Road, Colchester, VT 05446 filed application number 4C1006-2A for a project generally described as the expansion of the existing salt shed. The new salt shed will mimic the existing salt shed design which is located behind the Town Garage. The Project is located at 711 Blakely Road in Colchester, Vermont.

The District 4 Environmental Commission is reviewing this application under Act 250 Rule 51—Minor Applications.

A copy of the application

and proposed permit are available for review at the office listed below. The application and a draft permit may also be viewed on the Natural Resources Board’s web site (http:// nrb.vermont.gov) by clicking on “Act 250 Database” and entering the project number “4C1006-2A.” No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before April 23, 2020, a person notifies the Commission of an issue or issues requiring the presentation of evidence at a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing to the address below, must state the criteria or sub-criteria at issue, why a hearing is required and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing.

Any hearing request by an adjoining property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. Prior to

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BY JOSH REYNOLDS

No. 631

SUDOKU

Difficulty: Hard

BY JOSH REYNOLDS

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DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: HHH

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SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

57

2000 sf. Convenient location. Ready to go!

Wood floors, built-ins, high ceilings. Built around 1900. All systems current. $195,000. More photos on Zillow or Craigslist. Text Teri 802-793-6211. Showings follow all safety protocols.

By: _/s/ Stephanie H. Monaghan, District Coordinator, 111 West Street, Essex Junction, VT 05452; 802-879-5662, stephanie.monaghan@ vermont.gov

If you feel that any of the District Commission members listed on the attached Certificate of Service under “For Your Information” may have a conflict of interest, or if

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No. 631

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SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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PUZZLE ANSWERS

status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. Prior to submitting a request for a hearing, please contact the district coordinator at the telephone number listed below for more information. Prior to convening a hearing, the Commission must determine that substantive issues requiring a hearing have been raised. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

Dated at Essex Junction, Vermont this 2nd day of April 2020.

By: _/s/Rachel Lomonaco, District Coordinator 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 802-879-5658 Rachel.Lomonaco@ vermont.gov

CITY OF BURLINGTON ORDINANCE 6.09 IN THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND TWENTY AN ORDINANCE IN RELATION TO MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS — FLETCHER FREE LIBRARY RULES OF CONDUCT Sponsor: Ordinance Committee Public Hearing there is any other reason Dates: _ a member should be dis-4:57 First 3/30/20 PM reading: 08/26/19 qualified from sitting on Referred to: Ordinance this case, please contact Committee the District Coordinator Rules suspended and as soon as possible, and places in all stages of by no later than May 4, passage: __ 2020.

Second reading: 03/09/20 If you have a disability Action: Adopted for which you need acDated: 03/09/20 commodation in order to Signed by Mayor: participate in this process 03/15/20 (including participating in Published: 04/08/20 a public hearing, if one is Effective: 04/29/20 held), please notify us as soon as possible, in order It is hereby Ordained by to allow us as much time the City Council of the City as possible to accommoof Burlington as follows: date your needs.

That Chapter 21, MiscelParties entitled to particilaneous Provisions, of pate are the Municipality, the Code of Ordinances of the Municipal Planning the City of Burlington be Commission, the Regional and hereby is amended Planning Commission, by deleting the existing affected state agencies, Sec. 21-4 3 thereof and and adjoining property replacing it in its entirety to read as follows:

3

ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION #4C1329 10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6093 On March 10, 2020, Winooski School District, filed application number 4C1329 for a project ing the project number generally described as “4C1329.” construction of building fsbo- lynn101619.indd 1 and parking expansions No hearing will be held to the existing Winooski and a permit may be isSchool District campus including driveway, utility, sued unless, on or before stormwater and other site May 4, 2020, a person notifies the Commission of improvements. The an issue or issues requirproject is located at 60 ing the presentation of Normand Street in Winevidence at a hearing, or ooski, Vermont. the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its The District 4 Environown motion. Any person mental Commission is as defined in 10 V.S.A. § reviewing this applica6085(c)(1) may request tion under Act 250 Rule a hearing. Any hearing 51 - Minor Applications. request must be in writA copy of the application ing to the address below, and proposed permit are must state the criteria or available for review at sub-criteria at issue, why the office listed below. a hearing is required and The application and a what additional evidence draft permit may also be will be presented at the viewed on the Natural hearing. Any hearing Resources Board’s web request by an adjoining site (http://nrb.vermont. property owner or other gov) by clicking on “Act person eligible for party 250 Database” and enter-

2

Parties entitled to participate are the Municipality, the Municipal Planning Commission, the Regional

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6

If you have a disability for which you need accommodation in order to participate in this process (including participating in a public hearing, if one is held), please notify us as soon as possible, in order to allow us as much time as possible to accommodate your needs.

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3

If you feel that any of the District Commission members listed on the attached Certificate of Service under “For Your Information” may have a conflict of interest, or if there is any other reason a member should be disqualified from sitting on this case, please contact the District Coordinator as soon as possible, and by no later than April 23, 2020.

Dated at Essex Junction, Vermont this 23rd day of March, 2020.

FOR SALE BY OWNER

5

submitting a request for a hearing, please contact the district coordinator at the telephone number listed below for more information. Prior to convening a hearing, the Commission must determine that substantive issues requiring a hearing have been raised.

Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

fsb

owners and other persons to the extent that they have a particularized interest that may be affected by the proposed project under the Act 250 criteria. Non-party participants may also be allowed under 10 V.S.A. Section 6085(c)(5).

4

[CONTINUED]

Planning Commission, affected state agencies, and adjoining property owners and other persons to the extent that they have a particularized interest that may be affected by the proposed project under the Act 250 criteria. Non-party participants may also be allowed under 10 V.S.A. Section 6085(c)(5).

21-43 Fletcher Free Library. (a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide a system of standards for use of the Fletcher Free Library to ensure a safe, secure, relaxing, and pleasing environment for all visitors, Library patrons, and staff, while maintaining access to Library materials and facilities in order to promote education, reading, research, and learning. (b) Scope. This section applies to all persons accessing, using, or otherwise located on, at, or within all buildings and interior or exterior grounds controlled or operating by the Fletcher Free Library. (c) Definitions. The following definitions shall apply to this section 21-43: (1) “Commission” means the Library Commission.

(2) “Regulated Drug” means any drug as defined in 18 V.S.A. § 4201(29) or any drug prohibited under federal law.

(3) “Library” means the Fletcher Free Library.

(4) “Library Resources” means any Library materials, equipment, furniture, fixtures, or buildings located within the Library Premises.

(5) “Library Premises” means all buildings, interior portions of buildings, and exterior grounds connected to buildings that are controlled or operated by the Fletcher Free Library. (d) Prohibited Acts - Class A. The following acts are designated as Class A acts that are prohibited on the Library (1) Activities or behavior that may result in injury or harm to any other person, including challenging another person to fight or engaging another person to fight.

(2) Directing a specific threat of physical harm against an individual, group of individuals, or property.

(3) Engaging in sexual conduct or lewd behavior.

(4) Possession, use, selling, or distribution of any Regulated Drug.

(5) Destroying, abusing, or damaging Library Resources.

(6) Using Library Resources in a manner likely to cause personal injury or injury to other persons or property.

(7) Having been found liable for committing a Class B prohibited act 3 or more times in any one calendar year. (e) Prohibited Acts- Class B. The following acts are designated as Class B acts that are prohibited on the Library Premises: (1) Engaging in conduct that unreasonably disrupts or interferes with the normal operation of the Library, or unreasonably disturbs Library staff or patrons, including but not limited to, conduct that involves: (i) the use of abusive, threatening, or harassing language or gestures; (ii) conduct that creates unreasonable noise; (iii) conduct that consists of loud or boisterous physical behavior or talking; or (iv) entering staff-only spaces without permission.

(2) Using Library Resources in a manner inconsistent with their intended use.

(3) Being under the influence of alcohol or a Regulated Drug.

(4) Possessing an open or unsealed container which contains an alcoholic beverage, or consuming or attempting to consume any alcoholic beverage, except as allowed at a Library-approved event.

(5) Possessing marijuana unless the person is a registered patient in possession of a valid registration card under the provisions of the State of Vermont Therapeutic Use of Cannabis Act at 18 V.S.A. § 4201, et. seq.

(6) Consuming or otherwise using marijuana.

(7) Smoking or vaping any substance of any kind.

(8) Having been found liable for a Class C prohibited act 3 or more times in any one calendar year. (f) Prohibited Acts - Class C. The following acts are designated as Class C acts that are prohibited on the Library Premises: (1) Failing to abide by posted Library rules, including rules for: (i) the acceptable use of the Internet and Library computers; (ii) use of personal electronic equipment; (iii) consumption of food or drinks; (iv) use of designated Library facilities; (v) use of restroom facilities; or (vi) personal hygiene.

(2) Failing to follow the reasonable direction of Library staff related to a Library rule or policy.

(3) Use or preparation of tobacco products, bidis, beedies, or tobacco substitutes as those terms are defined in 7 V.S.A. § 1001.

(4) Leaving personal belongings unattended in a manner that interferes with Library staff or other persons on the Library Premises or placing personal belongings on Library Resources in a manner that interferes with Library staff or use of the Library.

(5) Interfering with the free passage of Library staff or visitors to the Library.

(6) Primarily making use of the Library Premises for sleeping. (g) Prohibited Acts - Class D. The following acts are designated as Class D acts that are prohibited on the Library Premises: (1) Bringing bicycles or other similar modes of transportation inside Library buildings, including, but not limited to, vestibules or covered doorways except that bicycles may be placed on bicycle racks provided in those areas.

(2) Bringing animals into Library buildings, with the exception of service animals or animals brought to a Library- approved event where animals are permitted. Animals brought into Library buildings must always remain under the control of the owner and not create a disturbance.

(3) Leaving animals tethered or otherwise unattended on the Library Premises.

(4) Soliciting, petitioning, or canvassing unless the activity is part of a program in a space designated for or expressly permitting the activity.

(5) Taking Library Resources into restrooms.

(6) Using roller skates, skateboards, or other similar devices.

(7) Leaving children under the age of 9 without the supervision of a person over the age of 16 who is taking an active role in attending to and supervising the child.

(8) Entering or remain-

ing in Library buildings without proper footwear or clothing.

(9) Storing or using personal materials such as bedrolls, sleeping bags, large bags, or suitcases. (h) Enforcement. Penalties for violations of this section 21-43 shall be as follows: (I) Class A Prohibited Acts. Any person that has committed a Class A prohibited act under this section 21-43 shall have committed a civil offense and be subject to a fine of $300 (with a $250 waiver penalty). The Director of the Library, or designee, is authorized to issue a Vermont municipal complaint for a violation of section21-43(d).

(2) Class B Prohibited Acts. Any person that has committed a Class B prohibited act under this section 21-43 shall have committed a civil offense and be subject to a fine of $150 (with a $125 waiver penalty). The Director of the Library, or designee, is authorized to issue a Vermont municipal complaint for a violation of section 21-43(e).

(3) Class C Prohibited Acts. Any person that has committed a Class C prohibited act under this section 21-43 shall have committed a civil offense and be subject to a fine of $50 (with a $30 waiver penalty). The Director of the Library , or designee, is authorized to issue a Vermont municipal complaint for a violation of section 2 l-43(f). Failure to correct the prohibited act shall result in dismissal from the Library Premises for the remainder of the day after an opportunity to be heard by the Director of the Library, or designee.

(4) Class D Prohibited Acts. Any person that has committed a Class D prohibited act under this section 21-43 will be asked to correct the prohibited conduct immediately. Failure to correct the prohibited act shall result in dismissal from the Library Premises for the remainder of the day after an opportunity to be heard by the Director of the Library, or designee. (i) Trespass. In addition to any other penalties set forth in this section 21-43, the Director of the Library, or designee, may issue a notice of trespass to any person who has committed a Class A or Class B or Class C prohibited act in accordance with this subsection (h).

(1) Initial Determination.

If the Library Director, or designee, determines that a person has violated subsections (d), (e), or (f) of this section 21-43, the Library Director, or designee, may issue a notice of trespass against that person only after that person has received notice of intent to issue a notice of trespass and has been given the oppor-

tunity to be heard by the Director, or designee, on the grounds for or extent of the notice. If, after giving the person the opportunity to present evidence. the Director, or designee, determines that trespass is still warranted, the Library Director shall issue a notice of trespass to that person, which shall state the prohibited act committed, the date and time the act was committed, the contact information of the person issuing the notice of trespass, the trespass period, the effective date of the trespass notice if not appealed, the consequences of violating the notice of trespass, and information on how to appeal the notice of trespass.

The notice of trespass must be hand delivered or sent via first class mail to the last known mailing address. The notice of trespass shall become effective immediately upon issuance.

(2) Appeal Procedure.

The notice of trespass may be appealed to the Commission by filing a written notice of appeal.

The notice of appeal must be received by the Library within 3 business days of issuance of the notice of trespass. The notice of appeal shall set forth the basis for the appeal and include valid contact information, including a mailing and/or email address. Failure to file a timely petition shall constitute a waiver of any right to appeal the notice of trespass.

(3) Hearing. Except as otherwise directed by the Commission, the appeal shall be heard within 10 business days following receipt of the appeal.

The hearing before the Commission shall be on the record. The Commission shall consider the preponderance of the evidence and the burden of proof is on the Library Director, or designee. The Commission shall render a decision at the conclusion of the hearing and mail a certified copy of the decision to the last known mailing address. The decision of the Commission shall be deemed final and effective upon issuance.

(4) Judicial Review. The decision of the Commission may be appealed under Rule 75 of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure.

(5) Restorative Justice.

A person may choose to engage in a restorative justice process with the Burlington Community Justice Center that could adjust the duration of the trespass and the fine. The notice of willingness to engage in the restorative justice process must be communicated to the Library either in person, by phone, electronic mail, or first class mail within 7 business days of issuance of the notice of trespass.

(6) Duration. A person

that has committed a Class A prohibited act shall be subject to a notice of trespass for 180 days. A person that has committed a Class B prohibited act shall be subject to a notice of trespass for 60 days. A person that has committed a Class C prohibited act shall be subject to a notice of trespass for 1 day. (j) Protection of Library property; penalties.

(1) The city may recover in a civil action damages for detained or damaged Library property, together with costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. Damages may include both delinquent fines and replacement fees.

(2) A person who willfully damages or defaces or removes without authorization any recording, book, or object available for public use or loan from the Library shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each offense. Each piece of Library material shall be a single offense.

3) A Library patron who detains Library property for more than 90 days after being provided written notice to return the property shall be fined an amount equivalent to the replacement cost of the material wrongfully detained, including the staff time to replace it, up to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500.00).

CITY OF BURLINGTON IN THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND TWENTY AN ORDINANCE IN RELATION TO COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE ACCESSORY USES AND STRUCTURES ZA #20-02 ORDINANCE 6.06 Sponsor: Office of City Planning, Planning Commission; Ordinance Committee Public Hearing Dates: 03/09/20 First reading: 01/06/20 Referred to: Ordinance Committee Rules suspended and placed in all stages of passage: _ Second reading: 03/09/20 Action: adopted Date: 03/09/20 Signed by Mayor: 03/15/20 Published: 04/08/20 Effective: 04/29/20 It is hereby Ordained by the City Council of the City of Burlington as follows: That Appendix A, Comprehensive Development Ordinance, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington be and hereby is amended by amending Section 3.1.2, Zoning Permit Required, subsection (c), Exemptions; Section 4.4.5, Residential Districts, subsection (d) 4, Accessory Residential Structures and U se.s; Section 5 .1.2, Structures, subsection ( d), Accessory

Residential Structures; Section 11.1. 6, Accessory Facilities; Section 131.2, Definitions; and Section 14.8, Glossary, thereof to read as follows: Sec. 3.1.2 Zoning Permit Required Except for that development which is exempt from a permit requirement under Sec. 3 .1.2( c) below, no development may be commenced within the city without a zoning permit issued by the administrative officer including but not limited to the following types of exterior and interior work: (a) - (b) As written. (c) Exemptions The following shall be exempt from the requirements of this Ordinance and shall not be required to obtain a zoning permit: (1) - (12) As written.

(13) Seasonal skating rinks.

(134) As written.

(145) As written.

(156) As written.

(167) As written.

Sec. 4.4.5 Residential Districts (a)- (c) As written. (d) District Specific Regulations: The following regulations are district-specific exceptions, bonuses, and standards unique to the residential districts.

They are in addition to, or may modify, city-wide standards as provided in Article 5 of this ordinance and district standards as provided above.

1. - 3. As written.

4. Accessory Residential Structures, Buildings, and Uses An accessory structure, building, and/or use as defined in Article 13 and provided under Sec. 5 .1.1 and 5 .1.2 customarily incidental and subordinate to a principal residential structure, building and/ or use, including but not limited to private garages, carriage houses, barns, storage sheds, tennis courts, swimming pools, cabanas for swimming pools and detached fireplaces may be permitted as follows: A. Accessory Sstructures or buildings shall meet the dimensional requirement set forth in the district in which they are located pursuant to Sec. 4.4.5(b) of this Article and related requirements in Art 5, Part 2; B. Any accessory structure or building that is seventy-five percent (75%) or greater of the ground floor area of the principle principal structure or building shall be subject to the site plan and design review provisions of Art. 3, Part 4 and the applicable standards of Art 6; C. Private garages shall be limited to as many stalls as there are bedrooms in the dwelling to which it is accessory, provided that the ground floor area is less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the ground floor area of the principle

principal structure or building; and, D. The outdoor overnight storage of commercial vehicles not otherwise associated with an approved home occupation or made available for the exclusive use of the residential occupants, or the outdoor storage of more than one unregistered vehicle, shall be prohibited. Any and all vehicles shall be stored in an approved parking space; and,.

E. Uncovered play structures, seasonal skating rinks, raised planting beds shall not require a zoning permit.

5. - 7. As written.

Sec. 5.1.2 Structures Except as otherwise provided by law or by this ordinance, no structure in any district shall be created, removed or altered except in conformance with the provisions of this Article and the requirements of the district in which such land or structure is located. (a) - (c) As written. (d) Accessory Residential Structures or Buildings: An accessory structure or building customarily incidental and subordinate to a principal residential use, structure, or building shall also be governed by the provisions of Sec. 4.4.5( d) 4. (e) Accessory Nonresidential Structures or Buildings: An accessory structure or building customarily incidental and subordinate to a principal nonresidential use, structure, or building may be permitted subject to the provisions of Article 4 provided the gross floor area of any accessory structure does not exceed five hundred (500) square feet or contain living space. (f) As written.

Sec. 11.1.6 Accessory NonResidential Facilities (a) - (b) As written.

Sec. 13.1.2 Definitions.

For the purpose of this ordinance certain terms and words are herein defined as follows: Unless defined to the contrary in Section 4303 of the Vermont Planning and Development Act as amended, or defined otherwise in this section, definitions contained in the building code of the City of Burlington, Sections 8-2 and 13-1 of the Code of Ordinances, as amended, incorporating the currently adopted edition of the American Insurance Association’s “National Building Code” and the National Fire Protection Association’s “National Fire Code” shall prevail.

Additional definitions specifically pertaining to Art. 14 planBTV: Downtown Code can be found in Sec. 14.8, and shall take precedence without limitation

over any duplicative or conflicting definitions of this Article.

Accessory Appurtenance, Building, Structure, or Use: A use, or detached building, or structure that: (a) Is located on the same lot as the principal use, structure, or building served; (b) Is clearly incidental to and customarily found in connection with the principal use, structure, or building; and ( c) Is subordinate in area, temporal extent, or purpose to the principal use, structure, or building served, and is not to exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the gross area or sales of the principal use, structure, or building served.

Animal (a) Boarding: An establishment involving any structure, building, land, or combination thereof used, designed, or arranged for the keeping of five (5) or more domestic pets more than three (3) months of age for profit or exchange, inclusive of equines but exclusive of other livestock used for agricultural purposes in areas approved for agricultural uses. The keeping of four (4) or less such animals more than three (3) months of age for personal enjoyment shall not be considered “boarding” for the purposes of this ordinance. (b) Domestic Pet: Any canine, feline, or European ferret (Mustela putorious furo) and such other domestic animals as the Secretary of the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets shall establish by rule and that has been bred or raised to live in or about the habitation of humans, and is dependent on people for food and shelter. (c) Livestock: Animals used for food production (including eggs, milk, honey, and meat) or fiber. (d) Grooming: Any establishment where domestic pets are bathed, clipped, or combed for the purpose of enhancing their aesthetic value or health. ( e) Hospitals: An establishment for the care and treatment of the diseases and injuries of animals and where animals may be boarded during their convalescence. (See Veterinarian Office) (f) Kennel: Accessory bBuilding or enclosure for the keeping of domestic pets. (g) Barn or coop: Accessory bBuilding or enclosure for the keeping of livestock. (h) Shelter: A facility used to house or contain stray, homeless, abandoned, or unwanted domestic pets or livestock for the purpose of providing temporary kenneling and finding permanent adoptive homes and that is owned, operated, or

maintained by a public body, an established humane society, animal welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, or other nonprofit organization devoted to the welfare, protection, and human treatment of animals. (i) Store, Pet: A retail sales establishment primarily involved in the sale of domestic pets, such as dogs, cats, fish, birds, and reptiles, excluding exotic animals and livestock.

Principal Building or Structure The main or primary Building or Structure located on a Lot within which there is conducted any one or more of the Principal Use(s) found on such Lot. Principal Use A main or primary Use accommodated by a Building, Structure, or a Lot. The dominant use or uses to which the premises is devoted and the primary purpose for which the premises exists.

Section 14.8: Glossary This Section provides definitions for certain terms found in this Article 14. Additional definitions are to be found in Article 13 of the BCDO. The following terms, as used in this Article 14, shall have the following meanings: Accessory Building: /IL Building that: (1) is located on the same Lot as the Principal Use or Building served; (2) is clearly incidental to and customarily found in connection with the Principal Use or Building; and (3) is subordinate in area, extent, or purpose to the Principal Building served.

Accessory Use: use of a Building, Outbuilding, Structure, or Lot allowed pursuant to Section 14.3 and which is subordinate and incidental to and customarily found in association 1, with a Principal Use located within the same lot. Not synonymous with Accessory Dwelling Unit.

Principal Building: the main Building on a Lot, usually located toward the Frontage, in which there is conducted any one or more of the Principal Use of such Lot. Principal Use: a main or the Principal Use accommodated by a Building or a Lot. The dominant use or uses to which the premises is devoted and the primary purpose for which the premises exists.

Material stricken out deleted. Material underlined added.

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO.: 410-3-20 CNPR In re ESTATE of GEORGE E. HALNON

NOTICE TO CREDITORS To the Creditors of: George E. Halnon late of Colchester, Vermont.

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 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.

Dated: 3/31/20 Signature of Fiduciary: Michael P. Halnon Executor/Administrator: Michael Halnon, c/o Geraldine E. Stewart, Esq., Jarrett & Luitjens, PLC, 1795 Williston Rd., Suite 125, South Burlington, VT 05403 (802) 864-5951 Gerry@vtelaw.com Name of Publication: Seven Days Date of Publication: April 8, 2020 Name of Probate Court: Chittenden Probate Court, P.O. Box 511, Burlington, VT 05402-0511 STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO.: 65-1-20 CNPR In re ESTATE of Gary A. Lacey NOTICE TO CREDITORS To the Creditors of Gary A. Lacey, late of Colchester, Vermont. 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 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.

Dated: March 31, 2020 SIgnature of Fiduciary: /s/ Daniel Quinones Executor/Administrator: Daniel Quinones, c/o Kolvoord, Overton & Wilson, P.C. 6 Joshua Way, Suite B, Essex Junction, Vermont 05452 802-879-3346 jfr@essexvtlaw.com Name of Publication: Seven Days Dates of Publication: April 8, 2020 and April 15, 2020 Name of Probate Court: Chittenden District Probate Court, P.O. Box 511, Burlington, Vermont 05402

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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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 X21, MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

YOUR TRUSTED LOCAL SOURCE. JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM Come work at EatingWell!

Production Designer bit.ly/eatwellproddesign

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4/6/20 9:48 AM

The Town of Fairfax is seeking an enthusiastic team member to assist with its active Recreation Department!

This position requires a highly reliable person with the ability to be organized, communicate, take direction and create a safe, fun, and creative environment!

Our ideal candidate will have previous experience in event planning and promotion, community-building, basic graphic design knowledge (MS Publisher, Canva, Photoshop, InDesign, etc.), an ability to work independently, and be able to work with a variety of people, demographics, and interests.

This is a part-time position (average of 10 - 20 hours per week) that sometimes requires schedule flexibility based on the needs of the Department. This position will report to the Recreation Director and will work to help maximize the quality of life and community for the residents of Fairfax. This position offers competitive pay based on experience.

Housing Stewardship Coordinator

The Nursing Assistant is responsible for specific aspects of direct and indirect patient care under the direct supervision of a Registered Nurse.

LEARN MORE & APPLY: uvmmed.hn/sevendays 10/29/19 12:12 PM in the Nursing Do you want to get started 4t-UVMMedCenterLNA040820.indd 1 field but aren't sure where to start? OR are you looking to help in a time of crisis? Come talk with us at Elderwood at Burlington!

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To be considered, please submit a resume and letter of interest with at least 3 references to: recreation@fairfax-vt.gov referencing the position of Recreation Assistant in the subject line.The Town of Fairfax is an E.O.E.

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LICENSED NURSE ASSISTANT

E.O.E.

4/7/20 12:13 PM

VHCB is seeking an experienced, enthusiastic individual to oversee the sustainability of VHCB funded housing developments. This individual collects data and monitors the financial health of housing developments, problem solving issues, making recommendations for action, and overseeing implementation of approved actions. The Stewardship Coordinator also makes recommendations regarding VHCB and federal debt and manages the monitoring of properties.

QUALIFICATIONS: Prior experience and training in housing development, and/ or financial analysis of housing projects and underwriting. Strong communication and writing skills, attention to detail, a creative and organized thinker, and a problem solver. Experience working with non-profit housing developers, property managers, social service providers and state agencies is highly desirable, as is knowledge of building construction and database management. Ability to work well as a member of a team is essential. Full-time position with comprehensive benefits. EOE. Please reply with cover letter and résumé to: Laurie Graves, VHCB, 58 E. State Street, Montpelier, Vt. 05602 or jobs@vhcb.org. Position open until filled. See the full job description at: vhcb.org/about-us/jobs

SUPPORT AIDE POSITIONS AVAILABLE! $3500 SIGN-ON BONUS!

Support Aide team members assist with ensuring the health and well-being of our residents by providing resident-related support services. Interest in entry into the 100 hour Nurse Aide Training Program will be evaluated during this time for team members pursuing certification.

Support Aide Responsibilities: • Transport residents or accompany ambulatory residents as assigned to various locations in the building including the dining room, activity program areas, therapy or treatment areas.

• Make unoccupied resident beds, as assigned.

• Assist in the Dining Room with food service to residents, under the direction of licensed therapy staff; duties include passing trays, cutting meat, opening cartons or other containers.

• Distribute supplemental nourishments to residents who do not need to be fed, as directed.

• Conduct informal activities on the nursing unit when time permits, as directed.

• Other duties as assigned

Support Aide Qualifications: • Sixteen (16) years of age required; high school diploma or equivalent required.

• Employment Certificate/Permit required for 16-17 years of age.

• No findings or convictions of resident abuse, mistreatment and misappropriation of property through any current or previous licensing agency.

This is also the link to the application on our website: careers-postacute-affiliates.icims.com/jobs/11148/support-aide/job 7t-Elderwood040820.indd 1

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3/9/20 2:36 PM

4/3/20 11:48 AM

Apply by visiting: elderwoodcareers.com WE ARE AN E.O.E. 4/7/20 1:10 PM

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSJOBS, SUBSCRIBE TO RSS, OR BROWSE POSTS ON YOUR PHONE AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

CUSTODIANS 2nd shift IMMEDIATE OPENINGS

EXPERIENCED GOLF COURSE CONSTRUCTION LABORER Fast paced Golf Course Construction Company looking for experienced labor for Bunker & Tee renovation project. Must be available immediately.

Pay scale according to your experience.

Harwood Unified Union High School District is IMMEDIATELY seeking school custodians for the 2nd shift.

Experience is preferred, but not required. Competitive rate of pay and benefits are offered. Please submit a letter of interest, resume and 3 letters of reference to: Ray Daigle Harwood Unified Union S.D. 340 Mad River Park, Suite 7 Waitsfield, VT 05673 Position open until filled. EOE

Send resumes to: lindsaywhite61@aol.com

NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY! JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

61 04.08.20-04.15.20

WHERE YOU AND YOUR WORK MATTER...

H E A LT H C A R E E L I G I B I L I T Y & E N R O L L M E N T D I R E C T O R – W A T E R B U R Y The Department of Vermont Health Access is looking for a strong leader with proven success driving engagement and managing complexity. This leadership position plays a critical role in our organization responsible for the oversight and management of our Health Access Eligibility and Enrollment Unit (HAEEU), which consists of approximately 150 staff serving 200,000 Vermonters. Applicants must be able to take on tough challenges with a sense of urgency, energy and enthusiasm. Applicants must have a history of ensuring accountability while planning and prioritizing work in alignment with the organizational goals. We are seeking applicants who possess exceptional managerial skills and are able to demonstrate awareness, adaptability and resiliency. For more information contact Hera Bosley at 802-585-6996 Hera.Bosley@Vermont.gov Reference Job ID #6782 Location: Waterbury. Status: Permanent, Full Time. Application Deadline: April 20, 2020

Learn more at: careers.vermont.gov

The State of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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4/6/20 9:39 AM

3/20/20 3:27 PM

103 East Allen Street, Winooski, Vermont 05404

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Dismas of Vermont is seeking an Executive Director.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for the staff, programs, sustainability, and execution of the mission of Dismas of Vermont. The Executive Director will develop and maintain deep knowledge of the field of post incarceration community reintegration, of the core strategies and programs of Dismas of Vermont, and of all operations and business plans.

100% EMPLOYEE-OWNED

Join the team at Gardener’s Supply Company We’re America’s leading web-based gardening company based in Burlington, Vermont! We are a 100% employeeowned company and an award winning and nationally recognized socially responsible business. We work hard AND offer a fun place to work including BBQs, staff parties, employee garden plots and much more! We also offer strong cultural values, competitive wages and outstanding benefits!

Gardens are a place of sustenance, security and solace.

Through gardening, we help our customers grow safe affordable food, while they benefit from the fresh air and sunshine that helps us all stay healthy. At Gardener’s Supply, we are committed to doing everything we can to help our customers keep gardening, but we need your help…

Application review beginning immediately, and continuing until the position is filled. For full position description and contact information, please see the Dismas of Vermont website, at dismasofvt.org.

SALES AND SERVICE MANAGER: We’re seeking a talented individual to join our Customer Contact Center! The Center provides service to our customers via the phone and online by taking orders, addressing service questions and providing valuable advice. This person is responsible for managing and developing the Contact Center supervisors; identifying and developing all culture, process and performance improvements, and efficiencies for the customer and for leading/ developing a team. Our ideal candidate will have at least 3 years of documented success leading direct reports to meet or exceed personal and department objectives; able to translate strategic goals into tactical initiatives; previous supervisory/call center experience preferred; and excellent personal and verbal communication skills.

Reconciling Prisoners with Society and Society with Prisoners Since 1986.

Interested? Please go to our careers page at www.gardeners.com/careers and apply online!

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JOIN THE TEAM AT GARDENER’S SUPPLY!

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 IN BURLINGTON • Manufacture high-quality products at our PRODUCTION FACILITY IN GEORGIA, VT • Help customers with their gardening needs at our WILLISTON, VT & LEBANON, NH 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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3/23/20 4/6/20 2:14 2:21 PM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

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POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

04.08.20-04.15.20

FedEx Delivery Driver Full time, $750/week.

Part-time option available.

Work seasonally or year round. Send contact info to: Vermontfedexdriver@ gmail.com.

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3/16/20

It’s good to remember the value of community.

Especially in times like these. Thank you to our amazing staff who are committed to facing any challenge with grace and dedication! We take care of each other. Join us! We consider you “essential!” We’re looking for people who are committed to doing work that makes a difference. Now is the time.

1:21 PM Have you been down-staffed in the hospitality industry? We’re happy to chat.

STAFF NURSE (LPN OR RN) VILLAGE CLERK/ ADMINISTRATOR The Village of Rouses Point, NY is seeking a detail-oriented individual to manage the dayto-day operations of the Village on a full-time basis.

Duties will include administrative responsibilities plus a variety of duties associated with municipal operations; including but not limited to: grant administration, personnel/human resources (knowledge of civil service a plus), municipal policies and procedures, public relations, supervision of employees, custody of records, resolutions, laws, inactive court documents, attendance of all board meetings (recording of minutes), FOIL requests, union contracts.

Qualifications: Bachelor Degree or equivalent experience in administrative and/or municipal operations required. Experience with local, state or federal government operations a plus. This position requires an individual to be a resident of Clinton County and a U.S. Citizen.

Nights & Evenings, Full or Part Time Wake Robin seeks health care staff who are licensed in Vermont to work collaboratively to provide high quality care in a fast paced residential and long-term care environment, while maintaining a strong sense of “home.”

We offer an opportunity to build strong relationships with staff and residents in a dynamic community setting.

We continue to offer generous shift differentials: Nights $4.50/hour, and weekends $1.55.

LICENSED NURSING ASSISTANTS Full Time, Part Time, Evenings Wake Robin seeks a dedicated nursing assistant with a strong desire to work within a community of seniors. Wake Robin seeks LNAs licensed in Vermont to provide high quality care in a fast paced residential & long-term care environment, while maintaining a strong sense of “home.“ We offer great benefits, a pristine working environment & an opportunity to build strong relationships with staff and residents in a dynamic community setting.

We continue to offer generous shift differentials; Evenings $2.50/hour, Nights $4.50/hour, and weekends $1.55.

Wake Robin offers an excellent compensation and benefits package and an opportunity to build strong relationships with staff and residents in a dynamic community setting. Interested candidates can send their resumes to hr@wakerobin.com or fill out an application at wakerobin.com/employment. E.O.E.

WE ARE OPEN AND, YES, WE ARE HIRING! We are a premier manufacturer of RFID products. At ASK/PARAGON ID, quality is always paramount and we take great pride in satisfying our customers with the very best products and services we can provide. Currently, the following job opportunities are available at our Essex Junction, Vermont facility:

Manufacturing Systems Integrator This key position will provide technical support by supporting manufacturing hardware and software platforms and applications, and their overall system architecture. The incumbent will also coordinate and drive the development and execution of select customer product requirements into technical data packages by supporting technical exhibits for customer RFP/RFQ/RFI proposals and quotes, as well as create data packages for production on orders won. Bachelor’s Degree in IT or equivalent required, as is experience in one or more of the following program languages: SQL, C++, VisualBasic, PLC programming. Proficiency with encoding preferred, and familiarity with RFID products and services a plus.

Production Team Members

Currently hiring urgently for 2ND AND 3RD shifts Production team members will contribute an excellent work ethic & attention to detail toward the manufacture of quality RFID products & services. Minimum requirements for a position working on our production floor include a high school diploma or equivalent, 1 year previous manufacturing experience, including ability to operate different pieces of equipment and desire to grow in the job, and a strong commitment to achieving excellence in job execution.

Salary and benefits: Salary range is $50,000-$65,000. This is a full-time position with health insurance; paid holidays; vacation, sick and personal time.

We offer employees a standard benefits package which includes medical, dental and vision coverages as well as, 401(k) participation after first successfully completing 60 days of satisfactory service.

Send resumes to: clerk@rousespointny.com

To apply for one of the positions above, please forward a resume with cover letter to: demetra.fsher@paragon-id.com

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New, local, scam-free jobs posted every day! sevendaysvt.com/classifieds

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Can’t find the paper?

Not that paper!

Seven Days is still publishing and distributing a print newspaper (you’re reading it!), but not every usual pickup spot is open for distribution. Find a list of current drop-off locations on our website at sevendaysvt.com/delivery.

Drivers are following health department protocols.

If you can’t find a copy, don’t flip out — flip through it instead.

Every week, we publish a digital version of Seven Days at sevendaysvt.com/digital-edition. It’s just like the real thing — ads and all! Put on your bathrobe, grab a cup of coffee and read up on what’s happening in Vermont using your device of choice.

Subscribe to our newsletters and visit us online for daily content at a safe social distance.

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fun stuff

FRAN KRAUSE

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.

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SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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RACHEL LINDSAY

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HARRY BLISS & STEVE MARTIN

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY REAL APRIL 9-15

nary ritual in which you visualize throwing those ruins into a big bonfire. Clear the slate for the new beginnings that will be available once the COVID-19 crisis has settled down.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “Argue with any-

ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19):

Moses did 40 years’ worth of hard work on behalf of his people, delivering them out of slavery in Egypt. Yet God didn’t allow him to enter into the Promised Land. Why? At the end of his travails, he made a minor mistake that angered God beyond reason.

Petty? Harsh? Very much so. I’m happy to say that your fate will be very different from Moses’. Some months from now, when your labors bring you to the brink of your own personal version of the Promised Land, not even a small error will prevent you from entering and enjoying it. And what you do in the coming weeks will help ensure that later success.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Built in the third century BC, the Colossus of Rhodes was a monumental statue of the Greek sun god.

It stood in the harbor of the island of Rhodes and was called one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Alas: An earthquake struck the area 54 years after it was finished, knocking it over and smashing it into fragments.

Three centuries later, many of the chunks still lay scattered around the harbor. I offer this as a teaching story, Taurus. If there are any old psychological ruins lying around in your psyche, I encourage you to conduct an imagi-

thing else,” writes author Philip Pullman, “but don’t argue with your own nature.” Amen!

That’s always good advice for you Geminis, and it will be especially crucial in the coming weeks. A certain amount of disputation and challenging dialogue with other people will be healthy for you, even an effective way to get clarity and advance your aims. (Don’t overdo it, of course.) But you must promise never to quarrel with or criticize your own nature. You should aim to be a radiant bastion of inner harmony and a powerhouse of self-love. Do whatever’s necessary to coax all your different aspects to work together in sweet unity.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Like many Cancerians, painter Marc Chagall cultivated an intimate relationship with his dreams and fantasies. His fellow artist Pablo Picasso remarked, “When Chagall paints, you do not know if he is asleep or awake. Somewhere or other inside his head there must be an angel.” Being a Crab myself, I know how essential it is for us to be in close connection with reverie and the imagination. Every now and then, though, there come occasions when the demands of the material world need our extra, focused attention — when our dreamy tendencies need to be rigorously harnessed on behalf of pragmatism. Now is one of those times.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Is there an influence

you’re ready to outgrow, Leo? Are there teachers who have given you all they have to offer, and now you need to go in search of new founts of inspiration and education? Have you squeezed all possible value out of certain bright ideas and clever theories that no longer serve you? Are you finished with old sources of excitement that have lost their excitement? These are the kinds of questions I encourage you to ask yourself in the coming weeks. It’ll be a favorable time to celebrate the joyful art of liberation — to graduate from what might have been true once

upon a time and prepare for the wide-open future after the COVID-19 crisis has mellowed.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Your words of power in the coming days are simple: deep, low, down, below, dig, dive and descend. I invite you to meditate on all of the ways in which you can make them work for you as metaphors and use them to activate interesting, nourishing feelings. There’ll be very little worth exploring on the surface of life in the coming weeks, Virgo.

All the hottest action and most valuable lessons will be blooming in the fertile darkness.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Before the COVID-19

crisis arrived, were you ensconced in roles that were good fits for your specific temperament and set of talents? Did you occupy niches that brought out the best in you and enabled you to offer your best gifts? Were there places that you experienced as power spots — where you felt at home in the world and at peace with your destiny? Once you’ve meditated on those questions for a while, Libra, I’ll ask you to shift gears: Meditate on how you’d like to answer similar questions about your life in the future.

Once this crazy time has passed, what roles will be good fits for you? What niches will bring out the best in you? What will be your power spots?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Fen” is a word that’s not used much these days. It means a marsh or a boggy lowland. Decades ago, Scorpio poet Marianne Moore used it in a short poem. She wrote, “If you will tell me why the fen appears impassable, I will tell you why I think that I can cross it if I try.” In my opinion, that’s an apt battle cry for you right now. You shouldn’t be upset if people tell you that certain things are impossible for you to do. You should be grateful! Their discouragement will rile up your deep intelligence and inspire you to figure out how you can indeed do those things.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Goodness alone is never enough,” wrote author Robert A. Heinlein. “A hard, cold wisdom is required for goodness to accomplish good. Goodness without wisdom always accomplishes evil.”

I think that’s an interesting thought for you to consider during the coming weeks, Sag-

ittarius. If you want your care and compassion to be effective, you’ll have to synergize them with tough intelligence. You may even need to be a bit ferocious as you strive to ensure that your worthy intentions succeed and the people you love get what they need.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Are there any ways in which you have been wishy-washy in standing up for what you believe in? Have you shied away from declaring your true thoughts and feelings about important issues that affect you and the people you care about? Have you compromised your commitment to authenticity and integrity for the sake of your ambition or financial gain? In asking you these questions, I am not implying that the answers are yes. But if in fact you have engaged in even a small amount of any of those behaviors, now is an excellent time to make corrections. As much as possible, Capricorn, focus on being trustworthy and transparent.

AQUARIUS

(Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Physicist Edward Teller believed there is no such thing as “exact science.” And in his view, that’s a good thing. “Science has always been full of mistakes,” he said. But he added that they’re mostly “good mistakes,” motivating scientists to push closer toward the truth. Each new mistake is a better mistake than the last and explains the available evidence with more accuracy. I suspect that you’ve been going through a similar process in your personal life, Aquarius. And I predict that the good mistakes you’ve recently made will prove useful in the long run.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Few astrologers would say that you Pisceans are masters of the obvious or connoisseurs of simplicity. You’re not typically renowned for efficiency or celebrated for directness. Your strength is more likely to be rooted in your emotional riches, your ability to create and appreciate beauty, your power to generate big dreams, and your lyrical perspective on life. So my oracle for you this time may be a bit surprising. I predict that in the coming weeks, your classic attributes will be very useful when applied to well-grounded, down-to-earth activities. Your deep feelings and robust imagination can be indispensable assets in your hard work on the nuts and bolts.

CHECK OUT ROB BREZSNY’S EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES & DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES: REALASTROLOGY.COM OR 1-877-873-4888

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supported by: During the ndemic, COVID-19 pa are Vermonters ected n n staying co ays w g in and find ve. ti si o p to keep re posting Musicians a s online, performance crafting makers are plies and medical sup sidents re Vergennes nightly a g are hostin ng parade.

Bang-n-Cla SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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4/7/20 5:14 PM

TALK, DARK, OK ON EYES New to the state. Looking for some people interaction since I work from home and haven’t met many people yet. VTguy60, 60, seeking: W

Respond to these people online: dating.sevendaysvt.com WOMEN seeking...

ACTIVE, OUTDOOR, ADVENTURE WOMAN I’m an outdoor enthusiast who spends my free time mountain biking, skiing, hiking, viewing wildlife, camping and kayaking.

I play hard and work hard. Friends are important to me, but I’m looking for a partner to share the journey with. When I’m not being active outside, I enjoy cooking/eating, listening to music and sharing conversation with others. Also love animals. Snowdaze, 52, seeking: M CABIN FEVER I need a dirty little secret. Want to be my dirty little secret? Your photo gets you mine. flirt802, 36, seeking: M, Cp, l LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE Ready for the next chapter in life and looking for a companion to see what life brings. I love spending time outside hiking, skiing or kayaking. I have a good sense of humor, a big heart and a strong back. Would like to meet an emotionally mature, self-aware man with a good sense of humor.

NorthernLights, 57, seeking: M, l CURIOUS OF LIFE AND HUMOR Sometimes I want to be among a lot of people, and sometimes I just want to be alone with my own company. Have always been curious about people and the world around me. Love learning new things, and currently working on how to play music. I have a great sense of humor and enjoy being outdoors all spring, summer and fall. daffodil19, 63, seeking: M, l

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SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

CREATIVE, FUNNY, GREAT FRIEND Just looking to meet new friends. I am honest and creative and funny.

Enjoy cooking, dancing, hiking, music and museums. Looking for friendship and a fun someone to explore this life with. Artiste, 67, seeking: M COUNTRY GIRL ON THE WATER I’m passionate about being outside.

Walking, hiking, snowshoeing, paddling, horseback riding. I love food, going out or staying in. Wood fires on a snowy night.

Family time. Conversation about anything interesting. I’m enjoying renovating my house. I love Vermont but enjoy traveling.

Woodburygirl, 56, seeking: M, l MOUNTAINS, SUNSHINE, COFFEE, CONNECTION I am a fit, caring, down-to-earth person looking to share adventures. I hope to have honest and interesting conversations and maybe learn something in the process. I am also innately curious and will want to learn all about you. I have no interest in small talk — I’m looking for authenticity.

I’m happy to chat and would like to meet in person. lovemountains, 54, seeking: M, l ENTHUSIASTIC, EARTH-SPIRITUAL, GREGARIOUS DRAGONFLY LADY Namaste. I’m a naturalist/writer who enjoys hanging out with insect enthusiasts, woods walking, photographing wildlife by kayak, and enjoying time with close friends and family. I’m looking for a man to share passions with me, especially if they include exploring used book stores, artisan/newage shops ... adventures we can discuss over surf and turf or sushi. Namaste.

DragonflyLady9, 71, seeking: M, l CENTERED, SENSUAL, TALL AND FIT If I could spend a day with any two men, they would be Freddie Mercury and Leonard Cohen. Sunday morning in bed — really hot black coffee, the paper and music. If you are a Trump voter, smoker or narcissist, we won’t hit it off. If you love books, movies and my two favorite men listed above, we probably will. Zenda889, 66, seeking: M, l

OUTDOORSY, HONEST, HEALTHY MUSIC LOVER Hi there! I’m an optimistic, funny, smart, nature- and animal-loving kind of gal.

Spending time together with someone who makes you smile, and has your back, is a gift. I’m a world traveler who has recently returned to Vermont. I am looking for a friend first to enjoy life and Vermont. If it turns into something more, bonus! Bella2020, 62, seeking: M, l FUNNY, CUTE, SHORT, EDUCATED, MULTIRACIAL “In a relationship, you’re promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things ... all of it, all of the time, every day. You’re saying, ‘Your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed, because I will be your witness.”.

ShortyBoots, 60, seeking: M, l INSIGHTFUL, CREATIVE, ADVENTUROUS Outdoorsy, attractive brunette. Poet, explorer of spirituality and personal growth, lover of nature. I love hiking, paddling, exploring new mountains, towns and ideas with others ... feeling what we’re drawn to along the way, sharing thoughts and impressions. Fairly flexible and easygoing.

Healthy minded; not big into alcohol, not into drugs. Waterpoet, 57, seeking: M, l

MEN seeking...

DOING MY OWN THING Hi. I’m looking for fun. I’m outgoing, and I love an adventure. Open to friendships that could grow into long-term friendship or relationship.

Vtcarpenter, 55, seeking: W, Cp RUGGED SUNNY DAY What about me, I wondered, would an interesting woman be interested in knowing? Looks like global circumstances have suddenly provided all the free time I need to put some guesses into words! jsnyder314, 71, seeking: W, l

ENJOY LIFE TO THE FULLEST I enjoy gardening, animals and reading, and I split my own wood (electric splitter).

I love cooking and contra dancing, and I have a new hobby: shape note singing. countrygirl1, 77, seeking: M, l

TALL, TALLER AND TALLEST I’m fairly new to Vermont, so looking for new friends. I like drinking and hanging out. Would rather hang out and shoot the moon than go out and do stuff on the town. Jasonbor34, 35, seeking: W, l

HONEST, FUN AND HAPPY Hi! Thanks for reading this! I’m happy and satisfied with life — no regrets! Looking for that one person who has the right mix of drive, adventure and honesty to handle a secure, well-adjusted Boston sports fan. Life is definitely a glass half full! Love to travel and especially love the beach. Feel free to ask anything, and good luck! Phuntimes, 57, seeking: M, l

NOBLE MAN Hello! Since I’m going to give this a “proper” try, please allow me to practice some shameless self-promo, talk about character and touch on what I am grateful for. I’m known to be caring, trustworthy, creative and supportive. I’m very successful in business and generous. Enjoy cycling, swimming, hot yoga and travel on fun, lavish trips! MicLee, 51, seeking: W, l

NEW BEGINNINGS I am an honest, easygoing person with a great sense of humor. I am looking for a nice man who also has a great sense of humor. I am not into drama. So if you are into drama, don’t respond. I like to go to the gym, go for rides, and I am a girl who loves to fish and do a little traveling.

Newbeginnings52, 67, seeking: M, l

FEEL YOUNGER THAN I LOOK Retired computer engineer. Looking for a woman who enjoys travel. A trip is more about the journey than the destination.

Love to explore, from back roads of Vermont to ocean cruses. I am a good listener and like to do things together.

Have a lot of interests, one of which is photography. LakeChVt, 67, seeking: W, l

COMPASSION GETS COMPASSION I love the outdoors; it nourishes you. I am looking to create positive times with a new friend or maybe lifzzzzzzzzZe partner! These are trying times. A good friend can help! I think you are stronger from stronger friends! If you would like to grow, let’s talk. Are you satisfied? I am a soft, understanding spirit! How about you? Philodave, 72, seeking: W, l HOPE I CAN REWRITE THIS I like a woman with lotsa cash who drinks Bud Light by the case. I like to work on muscle cars that get 3 mpg. I like a woman who likes my greasy hands all over her. I like a woman who can cook and sew and make flowers grow and clean up. Must be able to shovel snow. MarcwithaC, 63, seeking: W, l PATIENT, ATTENTIVE BI GUY Yep, life would be simpler if I were straight, but I’m not. Fit, energetic, discreet bi guy looking for safe, sane, well-endowed (just being honest) male FWB — someone who enjoys foreplay, not fastplay. Big request, I know. Even taller order is I’d really like to hook up with just one guy that shares same the interests and needs a discreet buddy. 2ndwind, 62, seeking: M HARDWORKING, FRONT-PORCH SITTING I am a steward of Small Hill Farm in Lincoln, Vt. I like working the land and have marketed a variety of crops over the years. I enjoy craft beer sampling — not interested in smoking or drugs.

Attend yoga once a week. 251 Club member. Etienne, 71, seeking: W, l CARING, HUMOROUS, AMBITIOUS, POSITIVE PERSON I’m very happy, positive, caring, ambitious, funny. Good sense of humor, and I love conversation. Working76, 61, seeking: W, l SEX, NIGHTCLUB, GAMING I am a positive person, and I try to live life as best as I can. I am an active and outgoing person, and I try to find time to try new things. I try to care about the people around me. I am determined, independent and I know what I want in life. Musictraveler, 35, seeking: W, l OPEN-MINDED AND PLAYFUL Happy-go-lucky, open-minded guy looking to please and be pleased. Up for almost anything; tell me what to do, and I will accommodate. Put me on my knees and fulfill your needs and fantasies.

Iwanttoplay, 39, seeking: M, TM, TW THE BIG EASY Big on the outside, pleasant on the inside. Looking for long-term companion for dinner, theater, and just living life. I am a retired civil engineer with many interests, a good listener, easygoing, look much younger than my age. I enjoy Thai food, cooking for you, local travel,and sites, hiking and more. Ready to share everything with the right woman.

SpiritYoung, 68, seeking: W, l COUNTRY MUSIC TYPE OF GUY I am an easygoing person with a big heart who wants a friend and maybe a boyfriend, if we would want each other and get along with each other. Like to do things together with the right man. Bearliker, 64, seeking: M, Cp LOOKING FOR A GOOD MATCH I am interested in meeting someone who truly enjoys the sensation of long, passionate kisses. Slow, relaxed meetings to exchange physical pleasure. down_to_earth, 59, seeking: W

TRANS WOMEN seeking...

TRANSFEMME PERSON SEEKING TRANSFEMME FRIEND I’m a transfeminine/nonbinary person looking for a transwoman/transfemme friend/mutual supporter/mutual wing girl for friendship, discussion, backing each other up and understanding each other’s experiences. I’m interested in the arts, the climate, justice and humor.

WingedGirl, 51, seeking: TW, Q, NC, NBP SUBMISSIVE SEEKING...

Looking to expand my experiences.

I am open to many different scenes and roles. tina1966, 54, seeking: W, TW, Q, NC, NBP, Cp, Gp GENEROUS, OPEN, EASYGOING Warm, giving trans female with an abundance of yum to share (and already sharing it with lovers) seeks ecstatic connection for playtimes, connections, copulations, exploration and generally wonderful occasional times together. Clear communication, a willingness to venture into the whole self of you is wanted. Possibilities are wide-ranging: three, four, explorations, dreaming up an adventure are on the list! DoubleUp, 63, seeking: Cp, l

COUPLES seeking...

SAFELY SEX UP THE QUARANTINE! Super fun and mischievous couple, socially aware and can find the fun in anything — including social distance! Let’s have a striptease in the McD’s parking lot! Let’s have Zoom lingerie cocktails! Let’s play virtual Scrabble — whatever turns you on amidst global pandemics. Let’s get creative. She is 5’7, curvy/strong pinup type; he is cuddly baseball build, 5’10.

Smartblonde007, 40, seeking: W, Cp, l TO MAKING IT COUNT! We’re a couple exploring and adding something exciting to our lives. She is 31 y/o, 5’6, curvy and beautiful. He is 32 y/o, 6’, average athletic and handsome.

We’re looking for friends and friends with benefits. We love movies, board games, hanging out, outdoor activities, stimulating conversation, sex, family and a bunch more. We’re clean, disease-free and tobacco-free. LetLoose, 31, seeking: W, Cp ONE NIGHT We are a really fun couple looking for a man to join us for a threesome. No sex, just oral, but will make it worth your while. Photos available if you’re interested, and will ask the same from you. WEX, 45, seeking: M SWINGER COUPLE Couple in early 50s looking to have fun with a male partner. Husband likes to watch but also join in. Wife is a knockout little hottie who likes to cut loose.

Looking for a male between 40 and 50 for some serious adult fun. Only well-hung men need apply — at least nine inches, please. Spaguy, 52, seeking: M, Gp LOOKING FOR SOMEONE AMAZING We are a couple in an open relationship seeking a bi male, gay male or couple to join us in play. We are two clean, professional adults. We are awesome, and we’d like to find another awesome person to expand our activities. Discretion given and expected. Message us. Let’s chat and meet for drinks and see where things go! vtfuncouple, 43, seeking: M, Cp ATTRACTIVE MARRIED COUPLE Attractive, caring and honest married couple looking to meet a female for fun times both in and out of the bedroom.

She is bi-curious; he is straight. We are very easygoing and fun to be around. Will share a photo once we communicate. Let’s see what happens.

VTcouple4fun, 48, seeking: W

i SPY

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SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK Grim-visaged war hath smooth’d his wrinkled front; / And now, instead of mounting barbed steeds / To fright the souls of fearful adversaries, / He capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber / To the lascivious pleasing of a lute. When: Thursday, September 24, 2015. Where: Calahan. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915025 BEAUTIFUL BIRD-WATCHER You were on the Burlington bike path with a black coat, binoculars, sweet smile and eyes like a tiger. I was the runner with the black pants and blue shirt. You pointed out the red-winged black bird and told me that was a sign of spring.

Look me up, lover, and I’ll fly away with U. When: Saturday, March 28, 2020.

Where: Burlington waterfront bike path. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915024 SPOTTED AT VERMONT LIQUIDATION STORE You were buying king-size pillows and asked me to go before you. You left the store for your SUV and saw me and then showed me a car accident that happened to your car recently. Let’s talk soon. When: Friday, March 27, 2020.

Where: liquidation store, Williston.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915023 TRADER JOE’S CHECKOUT LINE I should’ve written this weeks ago. I noticed you on a Saturday morning. I think you’re vegan! We checked out in the lines next to each other. I left just before you. If you see this, I’d love to get coffee once we can leave our houses. When: Saturday, March 7, 2020. Where: Trader Joe’s. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915022 HELLO HAPPINESS I’m getting your emails, but it’s not letting me respond. Dennis. When: Monday, March 23, 2020. Where: profiles.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915019

BLOND BOY IN BLACK TRUCK I noticed you smiling at me in front of the Radio Bean. I waved goodbye as we parted ways; you waved back.

We met again on Shelburne Road.

I was held back at a stoplight but managed to catch up. You were behind me until the turn for Vergennes.

This is the curly-headed brunette in the black Crosstrek. When: Friday, March 20, 2020. Where: Burlington.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915021 TRUE LOVE REIGNS Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this sun of York; / And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house / In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. / Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths; / Our bruised arms hung up for monuments; / Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings, / Our dreadful marches to delightful measures. When: Sunday, March 24, 2019. Where: Queen City.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915020 FRIDAY, SOBBING AT CITY MARKET I nearly walked into you as you left the co-op. You were almost blind with tears, sobbing as you walked. I wish I had asked you what was wrong. Small comfort, but it is the least I can do to hope you see this and know that one stranger that day cared about you and carried your pain with them. When: Friday, March 20, 2020. Where: downtown City Market.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915018 OAKLEDGE PARK WALKING BRITTANY SPANIEL Midafternoon. I was walking with my sister. You were walking with your dog, an elderly Brittany Spaniel, you told me. I’d like to ask more questions, starting with your name. When: Friday, March 13, 2020. Where: Oakledge Park. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915015

AMOR I try to ignore my feelings for you, but I find myself not able to control them anymore. I love you, and I miss you! When: Friday, March 20, 2020. Where: in the night sky.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915017 LATE-MORNING LAKEFRONT WALK To the recent central Illinois transplant: Thank you for the impromptu latemorning lakefront walk and talk.

When: Thursday, March 19, 2020.

Where: Burlington waterfront.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915016 NO MORE TIES I’ve done everything I promised and more. All our dreams could be a reality now. I’m sorry it’s too late and I wasn’t there for you as I should have been. I’ve been there every day for you and the kids, even though it’s not wanted, and will always be here. I love you, dudes. When: Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Where: passenger seat — hold my hand, kid.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915014 HARDWICK PARKING LOT, NOON You were soaking up some early spring sunshine. Radiant, with big silver hoops and long stray whisps of dark hair dancing in the wind. I had on an orange hat. You make my heart dance. Let’s soak up some sun together, at the beach. When: Monday, March 9, 2020. Where: Hardwick.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915013 YOU CAN’T HAVE ENOUGH KARMA Thank you for offering to help me out until I located my credit card by the coffees. Please say hi if you see me again out and about. When: Monday, March 9, 2020. Where: City Market.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915012 FRIDAY A.M., CUMBY’S, RICHMOND, 3/6 Dressed in a gray jacket with leopardprint shoes, I looked in while you looked out. I said hello to Bill. You turned to leave, and we locked eyes.

Time stopped. Brown Tundra hunk, you followed me in my blue Dodge toward Hinesburg, and I was bummed when you headed away to Williston.

You: tall, strong and instantly attractive! Wowser! When: Friday, March 6, 2020. Where: Richmond Cumberland Farms, 7:15 a.m. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915009

Ask REVEREND Dear Tubb O’Lard, 

Irreverent counsel on life’s conundrums

Dear Reverend,

I was laid off due to the coronavirus.

Luckily, I should be OK financially for a while, but I haven’t left my house in about three weeks. All I do is lay on the couch, watch the news and stress-eat. I thought I’d change out of my pajamas yesterday to maybe feel like a real person, but my pants are all tight. How can I get through this without turning into a big, fat couch potato?

Tubb O’Lard

(MALE, 35)

Sounds like you’re in the same pants as a lot of people in the country. You’ve never had to live through a pandemic before, so cut yourself some slack. Now is not the time to worry about your weight. Although your physical health is important, you need to take care of your mental health first. As the great philosopher George Clinton once said: “Free your mind … and your ass will follow.”

First suggestion: Turn off the news. If you want to stay up to date, limit your time.

Checking in the morning starts your day off wrong.

Checking at night can disturb your allimportant sleep. Pop in midday for an update.

MATTY WITH THE BIG SMILE I was walking with my son on Rose Street last summer. Not sure what we saw in each other from so far away, but we both had shit-eating grins down the block. You said I was gorgeous and that you hoped my man knew how lucky he was. He didn’t. But that’s over! Would love to see that smile again. When: Thursday, August 1, 2019. Where: Rose Street. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915011 CHIROPRACTOR OFFICE ROMANCE I’ve seen you few times at my chiropractor’s office. It seems like we are flirting, but I can’t tell for sure. I am hoping we are, because I think you are quite cute. I’m not bold enough to ask you out unless I know you feel them same. I’ll do my best to remember your name this time! When: Friday, March 6, 2020.

Where: doctor’s office. You: Woman.

Me: Non-binary person. #915010 HANKSVILLE WOMAN FROM GOOD HEALTH We met a few weeks ago. I have metal in my leg from too much football, and you have metal in your spine from California. You spoke of taking care of your parents. You were compassionate, positive and wonderful. I’ve been thinking of you since. I’d love to get in touch. When: Thursday, February 20, 2020. Where: Good Health.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915008 CO-OP CUTIE You: in the craft beer aisle, searching for a special flavor. Me: in the next aisle over, doing the same. I found that flavor when I saw you in your red hoodie, gently picking up each can with those strong hands. Maybe sometime, somewhere we can sip a brew from the same glass. Would love to see you again. xoxo When: Friday, March 6, 2020. Where: Hunger Mountain Co-op.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915007 CITY MARKET ON 3/5 To the woman with great salt-andpepper hair, black jacket and cool boots: You reappeared, passing in front of my vehicle. Sometimes a seemingly insignificant encounter makes a difference. I just wanted to say, “Thank you.” When: Thursday, March 5, 2020. Where: City Market.

You: Woman. Me: Woman. #915005

Better yet, google some good news about what’s happening with the virus: stories of survivors, what’s happening with work on a vaccine, people making and sharing masks. Find the good in the midst of the shitstorm. It’s there. You just may have to look a little harder.

Limit your time on social media. Use Facebook to check in on friends and family, but stay away from articles from who-knows-where and posts from alarmists. So much false information is being spread. It’s best to just scroll past.

COFFEE, THEN LOVE Not sure if I am that woman, but you sound an awfully a lot like a guy I just met, and he ghosted me. If this is him, then why don’t we throw in some Legos, too. When: Thursday, March 5, 2020. Where: Champlain Farms.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915004 DEAR BURLINGTONIANS Like many of us, I support democratic socialism. I draw the line at sharing foot stank. When you are in a public place, please for the love of Satan and Lady frikken Gaga, keep your dang shoes on. When: Wednesday, March 4, 2020. Where: coffee shops.

You: Group. Me: Man. #915003 THE FAITH THAT GROWS I’ll speak to you like the chorus to the verse / Chop another lime like a coda with a curse / Come on like a freak show takes the stage / We give them the games we play, she say / “I want something else to get me through this life, baby.” When: Wednesday, March 4, 2020. Where: the Velvet. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915002 WE KINDA DANCED TO RHJ You are seeing someone now, which sometimes has me feeling guilty for feeling this way — but occasionally I wonder, is it wrong of me to want one night with you? Just to cuddle and badly sing along to our favorite songs? It’s not even sexual in nature. I just want a good last memory of holding you in my arms. When: Saturday, October 1, 2016. Where: Lake Champlain.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915001 WE POINTED AT EACH OTHER I just happened to be thinking of you when I saw you for the second time today. The coincidence surprised me, and I was compelled to point. There’s more to it than that, but I’ll tell you that some other time ... if we ever cross each other’s paths. You have a warm and inviting way about you. When: Tuesday, March 3, 2020. Where: on the street.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915000 HANDSOME AT 5 A.M. I noticed you looking at the coolers of drinks. You asked what I was doing up so early while we both got our coffees.

Thanks for buying mine! Can I buy the next coffee?! When: Sunday, March 1, 2020. Where: Maplefields, Colchester.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #914999

To stay in shape, you don’t have to work out like a maniac; just get moving.

Wake up in the morning, turn on your favorite music and dance around the house. Go for a walk, even just around the block. Remember that Shake Weight you scored at a Yankee swap a few years back? Get it out and give it a go. There are loads of free workout videos on YouTube, but consider signing up for an online class from a local yoga studio or gym. If you can afford to spend a couple of bucks, they sure could use it right now.

If you’re prone to stress-eating, try gnawing on some fresh fruits and vegetables. They’ll satisfy your snacking and boost your immune system, to boot.

Good luck and God bless,

The Reverend

What’s your problem?

Send it to asktherev@sevendaysvt.com.

SEVEN DAYS APRIL 8-15, 2020

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I’m a 79-y/o retired teacher seeking a mature lady who can help operate a guesthouse together and enjoys gardening, nature walks and traveling.

Nonsmoker. #L1402 A lady in jeans / prefers meat to beans / in the fall of life / not anyone’s wife / locally organic / not into panic / cooks on fire / Computer’s on a wire / well trained in art / a generous heart / spiritually deep / easy to keep. I’m a W, 52, seeking M. #L1399

I’m a 58-y/o woman seeking a mature 30- to 45-y/o male who likes a no-nonsense, worldly life “off the grid” and outside the lower 48. Fast and furious or slow and easy. Nothing in between. Only honest, fun-loving, industrious and adventurous men need apply. #L1401 Looking for a fun friend. Me: woman 60 years young. Active, adventurous, creative, fit, friendly, flexible, fun, generous, improvisational, independent, outdoorsy, silly, smart, stubborn.

You: man, 45 to 60 years young.

Charming, educated, fit, flexible, funny, generous, independent, kind, outdoorsy and happy. #L1396

Spring has sprung. Looking for guys to enjoy the change of season. I’m fun and intelligent, with varied interests. I like everything; mostly sub, but not always. No text/email. I want to talk with you. Central Vermont.

Bears are a plus. #L1400 GWM in late 60s, very friendly, honest, caring and understanding. I’m retired, home alone, and it is very lonesome.

It’s been a long winter. Looking for a friend who can help me out once in a while. I don’t look or act my age at all. I have been recouping from surgery. I can tell you more later if you write.

Should have a car. Live in central Vermont. #L1398

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I am divorced of 34 years. I am 5’11 and 230 pounds. I am a very positive person, happy, thoughtful. Like good conversation and caring, honest people. I like the outdoors. I work and would enjoy good company. #L1397 I’m a 47-y/o male seeking a woman 33 to 47. I am looking for a long-term relationship leading to marriage. I’m a gentleman, honest, loyal, looking for one woman to spend my life with. #L1395 I’m a 37-y/o man seeking a man.

Pretty low-key guy. Good-looking for my age. Want to find the man who will complete me. Hope to hear from you! #L1394 I’m a 56-y/o male seeking a male same age or older. I am a fella who likes interesting people. I like to think it could enhance life and make it more fun. #L1391

Internet-Free Dating!

Reply to these messages with real, honest-to-goodness letters. DETAILS BELOW. I’m a W seeking a M. I’d like to meet a happy man who focuses on the good things in the world and shares my interest in nature, animals, music, star/ UFO gazing and possibly future tiny house living. #L1393 53-y/o virgin looking to meet cute girls between 23 and 43.

She’s gotta like to wrestle, be fun, be playful and like the outdoors. Be honest; no games. I don’t do drugs, drink, smoke or chew. Friends first. Been hurt too many times. Trust and honesty are important in friendships and relationships. Please write to me and send a picture. #L1392 I’m a single man looking for a single female, age 35 and up, with or without kids. Someone who likes the outdoors and activities.

I’m very romantic. I’d like someone to go away with on the weekends, and I love to cuddle. I don’t drink, smoke or do drugs. I got a brand-new hot tub in the backyard. I don’t email often but prefer writing or phone calls. #L1387

Gay white male looking for hookups, maybe more; see where it goes. 5’10 and a half, dark brown hair, good looking, brown eyes, slender. I clean and do windows for a living and run a rescue for animals and give them a forever home, so you have to be an animal lover. If interested, get back to me. #L1390 I’m a GWM, blonde/blue, seeking a GWM. Like everything but anal. Live near Ticonderoga, N.Y. Seeking between 45 and 70. #L1386 Senior bi male. Top seeking sub.

Bottom. Keep me warm all winter.

Horny day and night. I’m clean and discreet. Oral is hot. I love to watch every drop. Be my bitch. #L1385 I’m a fella seeking interesting humans. Reasonable human searching for interesting people to act as momentary diversions on the road to the grave. Make life interesting! #L1383 He/him. Musician, athlete, woodsman, metalworker, sculptor, hunter, fisherman. #L1381

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4/7/20 4:41 PM

Gardening isn’t Cancelled!

Gardener’s Supply is accepting online and phone orders for curbside pick-up and delivery of bulk soil and mulch.

Visit gardeners.com/store and place your order TODAY!

472 Marshall Ave, Williston • (802) 658-2433 128 Intervale Rd, Burlington • (802) 660-3505 www.gardeners.com/store Curbside_7DFP.indd Untitled-26 1 1

4/6/20 11:34 10:11 AM