Seven Days, June 17, 2020

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V ER MON T’S INDE P ENDE NT V O IC E JUNE 17-24, 2020 VOL.25 NO.38 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Will aid boost broadband in VT? PAGE 13

COMPROMISED SITUATION

PAGE 34

Living with chronic illness in the pandemic

THE WRIGHT CHOICE

PAGE 42

Controversy over drive-in concert

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WEEK IN REVIEW JUNE 10-17, 2020 COMPILED BY GILLIAN ENGLISH, SASHA GOLDSTEIN & MATTHEW ROY

NO FREE RIDE

ALL CLEAR

The state completed COVID-19 testing in all of its prisons and says there are no current cases of the virus.

Making progress.

JAMES BUCK

University of Vermont officials have released details about their plan to resume in-person classes this fall, adopting safety protocols that will dramatically alter how students live and learn on campus.

The in-person academic calendar will be shorter. People must wear masks. Residence hall populations will be thinned in the name of social distancing. The goal, university leaders say, is to preserve aspects of the traditional academic experience while protecting employees and students from coronavirus outbreaks.

“While there is more work to do, I’m confident the framework will enable UVM to offer a high quality education to our students and a productive work setting for faculty and staff in an environment that puts their safety and well-being first,” UVM president Suresh Garimella wrote in a message to the campus community on Monday.

UVM declared in late April that classes would be back in session this fall despite the looming threat of a second wave of the pandemic.

The typical college experience is antithetical to the concept of social distancing; students are often packed into tight classrooms and living quarters, and libraries and cafeterias welcome thousands each day. So colleges are

?? ? ?? ? ??

802nice

seeking ways to mitigate the potential spread of the virus while still welcoming students back.

An advisory committee of more than 50 UVM employees and students offered a proposal that the university’s board of trustees endorsed on Monday. The framework codifies strategies that UVM and city officials have publicly discussed in recent weeks.

The university will provide “safety kits” with supplies such as hand sanitizer and facial coverings; masks must be worn whenever students or employees are outside “their private workspaces or residence hall rooms,” Garimella wrote.

The university will offer a mix of in-person and remote learning for larger classes. In-person classes will end just before Thanksgiving. The last week of classes and final exams will be conducted remotely, as will any large annual gatherings.

Several major questions remain unanswered, such as how many students who would typically live on campus will be relocated.

“While many aspects of campus life will not be the same,” Garimella wrote, “I look forward to welcoming our full community back to a vibrant reopened university in the fall.”

Read Colin Flanders’ complete story at sevendaysvt.com.

That’s how much Vermont schools need to continue a summer food program for students, according to Vermont Public Radio.

Drivers in downtown Burlington will once again have to pay for parking after months of getting it gratis.

Another reason to ride your bike!

UNSEQUESTERED SEMESTER The University of Vermont campus

$12 million

TACKING ON

Gov. Phil Scott extended Vermont’s state of emergency through July 15. It’s the third extension since he issued the first order in March.

TOPFIVE

MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON SEVENDAYSVT.COM

1. “Colchester Protesters Urge Boycott of Sandwich Shop, Cuts to Police” by Derek Brouwer. A few hundred demonstrators urged a boycott of a sandwich shop whose owners were accused of making racist statements about police protests.

2. “Higher Ground Announces New Drive-In Events Series” by Jordan Adams. The Higher Ground Drive-In Experience will be at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction.

3. “What’s the Story With the ‘Dad Mailbox’ in Hinesburg? ” by Jordan Adams. A mailbox in Geprags Community Park is full of personal letters to fathers. Hinesburg resident Barry Lampke explains why he started it.

4. “Sixty-Two Chittenden County COVID Cases Linked to Winooski Outbreak” by Paul Heintz.

Health Commissioner Mark Levine reported the case counts on June 8.

5. “Vermont Plans to Reopen K-12 Schools This Fall” by Colin Flanders. Vermont’s K-12 schools will return to in-person instruction.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

The McClure Foundation will pay for one course at the Community College of Vermont for all 5,000 graduating high school seniors in the state. A+ idea.

tweet of the week @ScullyBully No Vermont, I am not turning my heat on you jerk.

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

WHAT’S KIND IN VERMONT

Alexander Lawrence in action

INKED OVER A southern Vermont tattoo shop is offering a second chance to those having second thoughts.

Mountainside Tattoo & Piercing in Bellows Falls will cover up or remove anyone’s racist or hateful tattoos, all for free. The shop announced the offer in a June 5 Facebook post.

“It’s ok to have a change of mind about things and we want to be there to help,” the post reads.

It’s not a new offer, according to shop owner Alexander Lawrence, but the service has gained new attention in the wake of George Floyd’s death on May 25 and the subsequent

worldwide rallies and protests against racism and police brutality.

“Sometimes people make rash decisions when they’re younger because of the influences they had at the time,” said Lawrence, 49.

Lawrence, who also removes tattoos with a laser, said he’s tried for years to help people. He offers free cover-ups of gang tattoos and selfharm scars. He recalled how he created a beach scene on one woman’s arms, using her scars as fence posts.

“I took something negative and turned it into something positive for her,” said Lawrence, who has 34 years of experience.

He also offers free face-tat removal and will get rid of any ink that someone finds impedes their ability to get a job. Lawrence, a

Massachusetts native, said he understands how important a second chance can be. He dropped out of school in the seventh grade, was homeless at 14 and struggled with drug addiction. Lawrence got sober, obtained his GED and eventually earned an associate’s degree in his thirties.

“Now I own a successful business that does really well,” he said.

So, he’s giving back. He’s scheduled to cover up a client’s bicep tattoo of a skull with a swastika on it.

“It’s not even that well done in the first place,” Lawrence said. “That’s the funny thing about most racist tattoos — they’re usually shitty!”

SASHA GOLDSTEIN SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

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FUND-AMENTALIZING. 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

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, Melissa Pasanen, Ken Picard, Sally Pollak proofreAders Carolyn Fox, Elizabeth M. Seyler AssistAnt proofreAders Katherine Isaacs, Marisa Keller

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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 DESIGN CreAtive direCtor Don Eggert Art direCtor Rev. Diane Sullivan produCtion MAnAger John James designers Jeff Baron, Kirsten Thompson SALES & MARKETING direCtor of sAles Colby Roberts senior ACCount exeCutive Michael Bradshaw ACCount exeCutives Robyn Birgisson,

Michelle Brown, Logan Pintka

MArketing & events direCtor Corey Grenier sAles & MArketing CoordinAtor Katie Hodges A D M I N I S T R AT I O N business MAnAger Marcy Carton direCtor of CirCulAtion Matt Weiner CirCulAtion deputy Jeff Baron CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Luke Baynes, Justin Boland, Alex Brown, Chris Farnsworth, Rick Kisonak, Jacqueline Lawler, Amy Lilly, Bryan Parmelee, Jernigan Pontiac, Jim Schley, Julia Shipley, Molly Zapp CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS Luke Awtry, Harry Bliss, James Buck, Rob Donnelly, Luke Eastman, Caleb Kenna, Sean Metcalf, Matt Mignanelli, Marc Nadel, Tim Newcomb, Oliver Parini, Sarah Priestap, Kim Scafuro, Michael Tonn, Jeb Wallace-Brodeur

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SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

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FEEDback READER REACTION TO RECENT ARTICLES

ON A ROLE

Kudos to Chelsea Edgar on a well-written article regarding Vermont’s mutual aid efforts [“How Can We Help You?” June 10]. I’m writing to underscore that government and grassroots entities are not mutually exclusive. Their efforts can be amplified through collaboration, and many residents can and do simultaneously hold positions in both. Although Peacham activated an emergency response team as per our town plan, our team’s main role was to serve as a clearinghouse for the many grassroots and governmental resources, services and information available to our community, including initiatives we spearheaded.

Edgar mentioned that I agreed to serve as chief operations officer, not knowing what my role would entail. It would be more accurate to write that I didn’t know what the pandemic would bring. As a 20-year professional in the industry of wilderness/disaster/rural medicine, while I couldn’t predict specifics, I most definitely understood what my role entailed.

Role definition is one of the main efficiencies of the Federal Emergency Management Agency incident command system.

I’d also like to clarify the statement that I created an “exhaustive database” of residents — a truly alarming concept! Like all towns represented at Vermont’s regional and statewide community organizer meetings, Peacham worked hard to ensure that all our community members knew how to volunteer and/or ask for help. To that end, almost 100 Peacham residents checked on their neighbors, confirmed contact information for a town-wide alert system and/or communicated concerns as their neighbors requested. Hence our “database.” It doesn’t get much more grassroots than that!

Thank you again for Edgar’s excellent writing. Power to the people!

Andrea Kane

PEACHAM

Kane is a member of the Peacham Emergency Response Team.

‘BLESSED’ AT BIRCHWOOD

I would like to commend the authors of “It’s in the Building” [June 3] for their superb journalism. I have a mother in Birchwood who has survived COVID-19, and I will tell you firsthand what amazing people the staff at Birchwood are and how blessed I feel that she is in their care.

WEEK IN REVIEW

newly opened gas pumps. I took 13 gallons at $1.99 (my car requires premium) — a savings of just over $11 when compared to Skip Vallee’s normal price of $2.85 a gallon. It was well worth the extra couple of miles.

What’s the catch? You have to be a Costco member to buy, but it won’t take too many trips during the year to cover the membership fee.

Maplefields has seen the last of me.

TIM NEWCOMB

Walter Curtis

ESSEX JUNCTION

COPS HAVE TOO MUCH POWER

Their courage and dedication cannot be overstated, and writers Colin Flanders and Derek Brouwer conveyed every sense of the surreal emotions experienced during this pandemic outbreak.

It is such a well-written and moving piece that honestly is worthy of professional recognition, and I would recommend a nomination.

Amy Bombard

UNDERHILL

VOTING IS EASY ENOUGH

I’m not sure how Gov. Phil Scott plays a part in preventing absentee voting in the state of Vermont, since it’s quite easy. Apparently, Andrew Crosier does not think so [Feedback: “Every Voter Counts,” June 3]. The secretary of state’s website provides details on how easy it is to vote absentee in the state of Vermont: sos.vermont.gov/elections/voters/ early-absentee-voting. According to this website, you can request a ballot online or on paper, or you can visit the town clerk’s office. In the event of a disability, you can have a ballot delivered to your home by one of your town’s justices of the peace.

Simple.

Christopher Maloney

WASHINGTON

WHO ‘FOUNDED’ VERMONT?

[Re Feedback: “Everyone Loves to Disagree,” May 27]: I think Robert Devost raises a valid question in his letter to the editor. What should we think about the founders of the state of Vermont?

Particularly Samuel de Champlain.

This question reminds me of the Julio Argentino Roca statue in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that is the frequent object of vandalism and a flashpoint for Argentine politics. Roca exterminated the indigenous population in the founding of modern Argentina. To many in Argentina, he is a Hitler figure.

I agree with the Argentine people who feel this way. For me and many others, we know that we live on stolen land, built by a slave-based national economy. Our whiteness and wealth are predicated on the blood and murder of generations of oppressed people.

Here in Vermont, we have an enormous, unchanging, boiling history of exclusion of people not of European descent. It is a shame we wake up with and go to bed with every day. We are lesser people for this reality and live lesser lives, lives built on the backs of others.

Art is powerful — about this Devost is correct. It holds real weight, and its symbolism carries great significance.

In Québec, the motto is Je Me Souviens.

Translation: “I remember.” For indigenous people and many others, this statement of French pride is one that cuts to the bone.

As someone of French Canadian descent myself, I do not particularity care for the motto. I remember burning dwellings, diseased blankets, metal tearing through bodies and the greed of white men.

Joseph LaFleur

BURLINGTON

SIGN ME UP FOR CHEAP GAS

A convenient trip to Colchester prompted me to swing by Costco and fill up at its

Defunding the police and using the money for community services is the right idea [Off Message: “Progressive Lawmakers Want to Divert 20 Percent of State Police Budget,” June 11]. The blatant murder of George Floyd before cameras — one of 1,000 unarmed Americans murdered each year by killer cops — demonstrated a failed and brutal system.

Cops know that, unless there are worldwide protests, they continue to have immunity and impunity on multiple levels: immunity from losing their job, immunity from arrest, immunity from independent and impartial investigation and prosecution, and immunity from conviction and incarceration.

The present system of impunity for cops is part of a race and class war directed against those who lack money FEEDBACK

» P.20

CORRECTIONS

Last week’s story about Francesca Blanchard, “Talk It Out,” incorrectly identified the director of the artist’s “Make It Better” music video.

Blanchard directed it.

Last week’s Bottom Line column, “Semi-Conducting,” contained two errors. GlobalFoundries has five plants around the world and is the largest manufacturer in Vermont.

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contents JUNE 17-24, 2020 VOL.25 NO.38

ON THE COVER

INSIDE!

COLUMNS

SECTIONS

26 Bottom Line

20 Life Lines

27 Hackie

38 Food + Drink

36 Vermonting

42 Music + Nightlife

41 Side Dishes

45 Classes

42 Soundbites

47 Classifieds + Puzzles

44 Album Reviews 65 Ask the Reverend

FOOD

Picnic Table for Two

60 Fun Stuff

Outdoor dining in Vermont: pizza, oysters and elbow room

64 Personals

PAGE 38

Pop Star

Curly Girl Pops brings wholesome treats direct to consumers

home design real estate

SUMMER 2020

PAGE 40

40

6

10

12

16

Sustainable tiny modules suited to social distancing

The virtual reality of pandemic real estate

The movement toward more garden, less lawn

Quarantined artists get creative with home studios

STUCK IN VERMONT

Online Now

SUMMER ISSUE

COVER IMAGE & DESIGN REV. DIANE SULLIVAN

NEWS & POLITICS 11

ARTS NEWS 22

FEATURE 34

From the Deputy Publisher

Small World

High Stakes

Can’t Afford to Wait The fight over Vermont’s coronavirus aid

No Fast Track to Speedy Internet

Lawmakers scale back plan to pump $100 million into broadband

Scrag Mountain Music offers a musical fairy tale online

The coronavirus pandemic weighs heavily on chronically ill Vermonters

The first-ever Black Birders Week was designed SUPPORTED BY: to raise visibility and connect bird lovers after the racist incident in Central Park involving birder Christian Cooper. This month, Eva joined Audubon Vermont education program coordinator Debbie Archer for a bird walk and a discussion of birding while black.

Inkblots

As tattoo shops reopen, clients express need for nurturing

We have

Writers and Lovers Couch Cinema: Shirley

Protesters Want the Works Marchers urge boycott of sandwich shop, cuts to police

Find a new job in the classifieds section on page 47 and online at sevendaysvt.com/jobs.

Jewelry & Gifts

Cheers to Dad! Perfect Father’s Day Gift: The“VT Strong”glass, handblown by AO Glass. Come to the Pop-Up Spot at ArtsRiot on Pine St. Sat. June 20,10-2 or buy online at aoglass.com for shipping & local pick-up.

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next to the Shelburne Meat Market

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FROM THE DEPUTY PUBLISHER

Primary Concern The demand for local news has never been greater, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) acknowledged to publishers at the start of a June 4 Zoom call organized by the Vermont Press Association. “But the market model — in order to fund it — has never been weaker. It’s just an unbelievable contradiction.”

With that simple observation, Welch described the current reality of almost every one of the state’s newspapers, from the Bennington Banner to the Caledonian Record, from Seven Days to the Valley News.

One by one, the worried-looking individuals on the screen expressed gratitude for the federal Paycheck Protection Program loans that have sustained their local media operations for the last two months. Without the PPP, a number of Vermont publishers said they’d already be out of business.

They also claimed to be producing some of their best work.

Welch seemed to be asking: What else would be helpful?

There were some good suggestions, such as making donations to private media entities tax-deductible and subjecting social media companies to the same liability laws as newspapers. Then Randy Capitani, publisher of the Deerfield Valley News, got personal. Referencing Welch’s reelection campaign, he suggested the congressman “send some ad dollars our way.” Capitani pointed out that, for 30 years, Welch’s media buyers and strategists had never shown a shred of interest in supporting his paper with advertising.

Welch, caught off guard, quickly recovered with: “Well, we’ve gotta correct that. I call this a pretty good sales pitch. I get it.”

Do you?

Candidates for elected office in Vermont and around the country routinely advertise their campaigns on Facebook and Google, sending money to Silicon Valley rather than to the local media outlets that write about them day in and day out, responsibly informing the citizenry so voters understand the choices before them.

These digital ad platforms never write or broadcast a word of journalism, nor do they cultivate or invest in Vermont communities. Exempt from the libel laws that regulate traditional publishers, they have become conduits for misinformation, discredited sources, nefarious actors and conspiracy theories.

Facebook, in particular, has come under fire for the way it spreads content that stokes anger, fear and resentment. In fact, company researchers created a presentation in 2018 that reported: “Our algorithms exploit the human brain’s attraction to divisiveness … If left unchecked,” it read, the site would show users “more and more divisive content in an effort to gain more user attention & increase time on the platform.”

Facebook has done little to address this problem. We only know about it because the Wall Street Journal reported on it in a May 26 article titled “Facebook Shut Down Efforts to Make the Site Less Divisive.”

As Welch pointed out on the VPA call, this trend is a “rage machine” that is undermining American democracy. Case in point: A recent episode of NPR’s “On the Media” describes how a rumor about a fictional bus full of antifa activists started in a Facebook group and eventually turned a peaceful Black Lives Matter rally into a hostile standoff in gun-loving Klamath Falls, Ore. Vermont media outlets are scrambling to keep the real, fact-checked news coming. As their PPP loans run out, here are some ways you can help: • Running for office? Restrict your campaign advertising to trusted local sources that cover, cultivate and invest in our communities. Use social media sites to share your message, but do not support them financially. Surveys show that people who read local newspapers and their websites are more likely to vote. Even in the middle of a pandemic, there’s still time to get in front of those folks before the August primaries.

• Businesses, invest in your communities by advertising locally. Your customers will notice and thank you for it.

• Vermonters, support your local media outlet by subscribing and donating, and make a conscious effort to patronize the businesses that advertise in it. If you like what Seven Days is doing, help pay for it by becoming a Super Reader. Your contributions are now generating more than $1,500 a week toward the creation of this newspaper, which is painstakingly reported, edited, designed, proofread and delivered to a Seven Days rack near you. We hope you’re finding it informative, uplifting and essential.

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news

MORE INSIDE

CONFEDERATE FLAG MARS RALLY PAGE 14

BUSINESS

MARCHERS SLAM SANDWICH SHOP PAGE 18

Magic Hat Brewing Is Leaving Vermont; Zero Gravity Will Expand

MURAL DEFACED IN MONTPELIER PAGE 19

B Y SA SH A G OLDST EIN FILE: SALLY POLLAK

TIM NEWCOMB

‘Can’t Afford to Wait’ The fight over Vermont’s coronavirus aid B Y PAUL HEI N TZ

L

ike many primary care providers, Stowe Family Practice was barely hanging on before the coronavirus arrived. When it did, the office lost half the appointments that typically pay its bills and saw a 400 percent increase in phone inquiries, which don’t generate much income.

Support staff were furloughed, doctors took pay cuts, and the practice’s future appeared uncertain — but the work continued.

“We never closed our doors,” said Dr. Katherine Marvin, who helps run the office, a branch of Community Health Services of Lamoille Valley. “We were open every single day, and we were seeing patients every single day. Our nurses were out front — brave and resilient.”

Now, Marvin is hoping that the state will reciprocate by rescuing the beleaguered health care industry — and soon.

“We’re in a position where we can get through this, but we need the support,” she said. “We’re nowhere near to getting out of the red.”

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Marvin is hardly alone. In nearly every sector of Vermont’s economy, business and nonprofit leaders are eagerly awaiting word on how much federal coronavirus funding the state will dole out, what organizations will receive it and when the money will arrive. In recent weeks, Gov. Phil Scott and the state legislature have grown increasingly at odds over the answers to each of those questions.

Ironically, the Republican governor has taken the traditionally liberal point of view that the state should spend every federal dollar it can — as soon as it can — to prime the economic pump and save businesses on the brink of collapse. The Democratdominated legislature, meanwhile, has taken the conservative view that the state should sock away a portion of the funding to grapple with a projected budget deficit this fall and prepare for a second wave of the pandemic.

Both sides, meanwhile, are accusing the other of moving too slowly and imperiling Vermont’s economic recovery.

At a press conference last week, Scott lamented the fact that lawmakers hadn’t swiftly approved a $400 million economic recovery package he had outlined weeks earlier. “We were inclusive in this work in hopes that it would move though the legislature quickly and fully intact. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that it’s going to be the case,” he said, adding that he hoped lawmakers would “get back to work.”

“What would help in getting money out the door quickly is had we gotten proposals from the administration more than two weeks ago,” countered House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero). Many of the Scott administration’s proposals “were not well thought-out,” she continued, while others “are still nonexistent.”

At issue is how to spend the $1.25

STATEHOUSE

‘CAN’T AFFORD TO WAIT’

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One of Vermont’s oldest craft breweries is leaving the state.

Magic Hat Brewing will shift production from its South Burlington digs to a Rochester, N.Y., brewery owned by its parent company, FIFCO USA. As part of the move, nearby Zero Gravity Craft Brewery will buy Magic Hat’s equipment and take over its leased space on Bartlett Bay Road.

Magic Hat’s 43 brewing and operations employees in Vermont will lose their jobs but will be considered for open positions with Zero Gravity, FIFCO said in a press release Tuesday. The deal is expected to close on July 1.

“With the capabilities and capacity of our new brewery and the evolution of Magic Hat, moving the production to Rochester provided the best long term opportunity,” FIFCO CEO Rich Andrews said in a statement. “We have been brewing a portion of Magic Hat in Rochester for nearly a decade. Having one brewery with new equipment creates consistent, high quality beer that our Magic Hat consumers have come to expect.”

The move will sever the final Vermont ties to an iconic local business cofounded by entrepreneur Alan Newman in 1994.

Magic Hat #9 shot the beer maker to fame, and the company earned the title of eighth largest craft brewery in the U.S. in 2011, according to its bio. Its “Artifactory” off Shelburne Road was a zany tour stop for brewheads and helped cement the Burlington area as a beer mecca. The company also hosted an annual Mardi Gras celebration, capped off for many years with a parade in the Queen City.

“Our ties to Burlington made this decision very difficult,” Andrews said in the statement.

Zero Gravity was founded in 2004 and operates a brewpub at American Flatbread in downtown Burlington, along with a taproom and production facility on Pine Street.

“The addition of this new facility will allow us to expand our production without sacrificing the space needed for the creative development and innovation that our brewery is known for,” Matt Wilson, the CEO of Zero Gravity, said in the statement.

Contact: sasha@sevendaysvt.com

No Fast Track to Speedy Internet Lawmakers scale back plan to pump $100 million into broadband

BY KEVIN MC C ALL UM

W

hen lawmakers learned that Vermont was receiving $1.25 billion through the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund, many hoped they could steer a hefty chunk toward finally expanding broadband internet access to people who need it more than ever.

After all, advocates argue, if the government is going to require people to work and learn from home, it has an obligation to provide the tools to make that achievable — not only in cities but in rural places such as the Northeast Kingdom.

Legislative committees began to discuss spending as much as $100 million to eliminate the state’s digital divide once and for all. A major problem quickly emerged: The federal Coronavirus Relief Fund came with restrictions, including the proviso that the money be spent by the end of this year.

Since broadband networks generally take years to design, finance, permit and build, simply throwing money at the problem wasn’t going to improve connectivity.

“You have to engineer these networks,” said Rep. Laura Sibilia (I-Dover). “You don’t just, like, snap your fingers and it’s built.”

Lawmakers have had to acknowledge that the state’s complex connectivity challenges defy short-term fixes.

Sibilia is vice chair of the House Energy and Technology Committee, which dramatically scaled back its nearly $100 million preliminary recommendation after learning the limits on how federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act money can be spent.

The committee initially discussed allocating $45 million of that $100 million to build fiber-optic internet connections with download speeds of 100 megabits per second. Those lightning-fast speeds are available to fewer than one in five buildings in Vermont, according to the Department of Public Service. The state’s goal is to make such speeds available everywhere by 2024.

“I think this is what a lot of Vermonters, and frankly a lot of legislators, would like to see us be able to do,” Rep. Tim Briglin (D-Thetford), told House Energy and

TECH

Technology Committee colleagues last week as they drafted their broadband bill.

But that proved impossible, Briglin said. The latest federal guidance states that the coronavirus funds must be spent on “necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency.”

Another $7 million sought by the committee for preconstruction engineering and design work to help providers — established national players such as Comcast, as well as homegrown networks in voterbacked community utility districts — was also deemed out of bounds.

“The Joint Fiscal Office and the consultant they are working with very much gave a thumbs-down to that idea,” Briglin told his colleagues.

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The consultant, Danna MacKenzie, testified in the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday that initially “there was a lot of optimism and hope that these funds could be used directly to start working on Vermont’s long-term broadband planning.”

But recent guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury clarified that was “not the intent” of the federal aid. The funds come with a “severe limitation” that they can only be used to connect to broadband people who need it for K-12 education, telehealth and telework, she said.

MacKenzie acknowledged that her firm was taking the “most conservative” view of how the money could be spent because the federal government could demand repayment of funds spent inappropriately.

The broadband bill has been downsized to $43 million, with just a fraction of that funding dedicated to expanding internet access for residents. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week.

The measure includes $20 million NO FAST TRACK TO SPEEDY INTERNET

» P.16

Racism has no place on our Streetor on any street.

Today and every day we stand together with the entire Black community. We stand with our Black colleagues, partners, collaborators and the entire Black community. We stand with our friends around the globe to speak out against racism, to promote understanding, and create a world that is smarter, stronger and kinder.

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news ‘Can’t Afford to Wait’ « P.12

NEWS

Trio With Confederate Flag Interrupts Anti-Racism Rally in Craftsbury

BY S A S H A GO L D S TE I N

A rally against racism in truck, waving the flags and Craftsbury last week was yelling at the crowd. One interrupted by an armed of the teens wore a “Trump man and two teenagers who 2020” T-shirt. Laura, a black drove by the crowd waving woman who lives in North Confederate and “Don’t Tread Wolcott, said she and some on Me” flags from the back of others ran to the truck to a pickup truck. confront the trio. She asked That prompted some that Seven Days not use her attendees to swarm the last name because of fear of truck. The driver, Jasper retribution.

“Jay” Wright, stopped when Much of the conversapeople blocked the road. A tion with Wright began with 40-second video, provided “idle chatter” about farming to Seven Days and shared and other small talk, Laura on social media, captured recalled. some of what happened “I just thought, This is not next.

Jasper “Jay” Wright OK. This is not the time to “Do you not think black talk about your crops. We’re lives matter?” a woman is not here to entertain racists heard asking Wright, who tries repeatedly and make racists feel comfortable,” Laura to say something. “Do you not think black said. lives matter?” the woman asks again.

Wright told the protesters he isn’t a “Listen to m—,” Wright responds, before racist, saying he’d served in the military he yells, “No, I don’t! OK? Is that what you with black people, Laura recalled. He said want? There!” that the Confederate flag represents “Why don’t you get the fuck out of freedom to him. here?” another woman responds.

That’s about when the video begins.

“Because she won’t fucking listen!”

Laura said her wife filmed Wright as Laura Wright says. “I didn’t start this conversaconfronted him. tion.” As the video ends, Wright says that Seven Days did not attend the rally. In he “does not have a problem with Black the days since, the newspaper has worked Lives Matter. I have a problem with what to contact those who were there, including most of it stands for,” adding, “It should be Wright, who responded to an interview about all lives matter.” request Tuesday afternoon.

Several attendees at the June 10 He confirmed much of the protesters’ rally said they were shocked, scared and account. He said he is always armed, as are disgusted by the incident. It got tense the rest of his family members, including enough, according to organizer Pablo his 17-year-son, who had a pistol and Coddou, that he and some students waved the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag at the of color from nearby Sterling College protest. The other teenager in the truck discussed leaving the demonstration, was his son’s friend. which was at Craftsbury Common.

Wright said he found it hard to believe Coddou, a Latino mental health the protesters were scared of him as they counselor who grew up in New York City, ran up to his truck. He said he just wanted said he’d previously heard from students to make a statement of his own. of color “very sad stories, pretty awful stuff “I think the Black Lives Matter flag is around not feeling safe at times” while racist to me,” Wright said, calling the antiliving in rural Vermont. racism coalition a “terrorist group.”

An earlier incident preceded the “I didn’t go out to start trouble. It’s their flag-waving. The teens, without Wright, constitutional right to have a peaceful prohad driven near the gathering in a van test, just as it is mine. And I disagree with with a poster attached to the exterior that what they’re doing. All lives matter, not read, “Small Dicks Matter.” Some attendees just black, white, yellow, green, whatever.” ripped off the sign and had a short confronHe added: “It starts with one peaceful tation with the teens, who then left. protest, and then everybody else comes in The rally went off as planned, though and starts a whole bunch of shit. We don’t it was much bigger than expected, said need that.”

Anne-Marie Keppel, who organized the Wright went on to say that he is not a event with Coddou, her husband. Some racist: “The color of your skin don’t mean 200 folks, including a handful of people of nothing to me. I could care less.” color, marched around the common. They “Was it the right thing to do?” he said kneeled silently for eight minutes and 46 of his counterprotest. “Probably not. But if seconds in honor of George Floyd, a black I piss people off, I really don’t care. I don’t man whose killing by cops in Minneapolis lose any sleep over it.” on May 25 set off this most recent reckonAsked if he regretted what he’d done, ing with racism in America.

Wright replied, “Not a bit.”

As audience members made speeches, Wright and the teens showed up in their Contact: sasha@sevendaysvt.com

14

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

billion in Coronavirus Relief Fund money that Vermont received as part of the federal CARES Act. According to the latest estimates by the legislature’s Joint Fiscal Office, the state has already spent or obligated nearly $280 million of that — much of it on the initial public health response and support for imperiled institutions, such as the Brattleboro Retreat and Springfield Hospital — leaving a little less than $1 billion up for grabs.

The Scott administration has proposed spending $400 million on his sweeping economic recovery package, as well

that Congress will intervene at the behest of other states facing similar budget crises.

The standoff between Scott and the legislature may soon come to a head. Last week, Johnson and Ashe agreed that the legislature would aim to adjourn by June 26 and then return in late August to finalize next year’s budget. That leaves less than a week and a half to finish work on roughly 20 priority policy bills and determine how much of the $1 billion in Coronavirus Relief Fund money to spend before the end of the summer.

The appropriations process has grown exceedingly complex because different committees in different chambers have

as $375 million to bolster the health care industry and $200 million to reopen K-12 schools, according to Administration Secretary Susanne Young.

That would eat up nearly all the remaining slices of the pie.

Legislative leaders say they support all those priorities but intend to appropriate less money for each. That’s because, with state economists projecting a $332 million decline in anticipated tax revenues next year, lawmakers want to reserve roughly that amount to balance the state budget — or to spend on unanticipated crises that emerge in the coming months.

“It does seem prudent to have the option to use some of these funds to get us through the next year,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden).

“If the money’s all spent … then we find ourselves with a series of choices, none of which is very pretty.” Those choices, he added, include dramatic tax increases, dramatic spending cuts or a mix of both.

The governor sees it differently, calling the legislature’s approach “shortsighted.”

“If we don’t act now to save our businesses and these jobs, the budget gaps we’re facing today will just be the tip of the iceberg,” he said at last week’s press conference. “And we’ll face systemic losses in revenue for years to come.”

The administration also questions whether the state will be allowed to use the federal aid to balance next year’s budget.

Current guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury prohibits the practice, though legislators are holding out hope

been working simultaneously to dole out the money in different ways. In the House, Johnson and her leadership team divvied up nearly half a billion dollars between 13 policy committees and asked each to make spending recommendations to the Appropriations Committee, which has been making final decisions this week.

“It was a little bit of a chicken-and-anegg problem, because committees don’t know how big of a project they can take on if they don’t know what money they have to work with,” the speaker said. “But we don’t know how much money to give them if we don’t know what the issues in their [jurisdiction] are.”

The Senate, meanwhile, last week sent the House a $93 million economic recovery and homelessness mitigation plan and a $30 million bailout of the state’s agriculture system. The House quickly approved the former and sent it to the governor; it’s expected to sign off on the latter soon. Other appropriations of the federal aid have been tucked into separate budget bills, which have been working their way through both chambers.

Legislative leaders consider the $93 million bill a down payment on their full spending plan, but at last week’s press conference Scott and his deputies characterized it as too little, too late. “This fractioned approach is taking much longer and will initially deliver less than half of the financial support that was originally proposed,”

Commerce Secretary Lindsay Kurrle said.

“We really can’t afford to wait,” Economic Development Commissioner Joan Goldstein added.

Legislators bristle at the notion that they’ve been twiddling their thumbs. “It took seven weeks or more for them to get us the proposal,” Sen. Michael Sirotkin (D-Chittenden) said of the governor’s $400 million economic recovery plan.

Though Scott outlined that plan to the public on May 20, his administration didn’t deliver its details to the legislature until May 27. Within a week and a half of that, the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs, which Sirotkin chairs, signed off on the $93 million down payment. “There’s no way I could’ve moved it any faster,” he said. “And to do it fast, I had to, in essence, give the administration a lot of discretion on many of the details.”

WE’RE NOWHERE NEAR TO

GETTING OUT OF THE RED.

D R . KAT HERI NE MARTIN

Sirotkin maintains that his committee improved the governor’s plan by replacing proposed loans with direct grants.

“It was very clear to us that the business community did not want loans,” he said.

“They wanted grants because they didn’t want to be saddled with more debt at this particular time.”

The governor’s team was also slow to deliver other proposals to the legislature.

The administration didn’t brief the legislature on its $375 million health care bailout until June 3, and it still hasn’t provided details of its $200 million education plan.

“So our committees have had to start from scratch in a lot of cases,” Johnson said.

Meanwhile, industry groups have seized on the administration’s top-line numbers to goad the legislature into providing more money. After Johnson asked the House Health Care Committee to come up with an initial $150 million relief package, a coalition of hospitals, independent doctors, long-term-care organizations and other health care groups called for the full $375 million that Scott had proposed.

“We cannot restore our capacity to care for Vermonters with the approximately $150 million currently under consideration” for the industry, they wrote, arguing that their projected losses through the end of the year well exceed $400 million.

“Our need is now,” said VNAs of Vermont executive director Jill Mazza Olson, pointing to the possibility of a second wave of the pandemic this fall. “We don’t know when

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“Why wouldn’t we use the time to be as strong as possible for the next wave?”

Rep. Bill Lippert (D-Hinesburg), who chairs the House Health Care Committee, conceded that the industry’s immediate needs “far exceed” the initial $150 million he was allowed to spend, and he called on the House Appropriations Committee to allocate more money. The committee did so Exploring the outdoor wonderland on Tuesday, agreeing to provide health care ... Buy American & Local is a gift we have as Vermonters. institutions more than $251 million in aid.

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It’s unclear precisely how the governor plans to balance the budget without the Coronavirus Relief Fund money.

His administration initially pitched an 8 percent, across-the-board cut for the first quarter of the next fiscal year, which starts in July, but the legislature rejected it.

That leaves only nine months to plug the projected $332 million hole.

Young, the administration secretary, seems to be banking on a quicker-thanexpected economic recovery, which presumably would generate more tax revenue and decrease the shortfall. She noted that tax receipts outpaced expectations in May and could continue to do so.

“Coming into the summer, we should be seeing an uptick in revenues and a downtick in that gap,” she said.

If you appreciate accurate If such a recovery doesn’t materialize, and local information Young said, the governor would not be during the COVID-19 inclined to balance the budget by raising pandemic, become a taxes. That would seem to leave one option.

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Contact: paul@sevendaysvt.com Disclosure: Tim Ashe is the domestic partner of Seven Days publisher and coeditor Paula Routly. Find our conflictof-interest policy at sevendaysvt.com/ disclosure.

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MICHAEL TONN

to compensate utilities — not just telecoms such as Comcast, but also electric and gas companies — for the cost of continuing to serve people who stopped paying bills due to COVID-19. The bill sets aside $7.3 million for the Agency of Digital Services to make it more secure for state employees to work remotely and to upgrade the obsolete unemployment insurance computer system.

The bill also includes $500,000 for a “telecommunications recovery plan” and $466,500 for local cable access organizations in recognition of the additional coverage they’ve taken on during the pandemic.

That leaves only about $13 million in proposed spending to connect Vermonters to broadband internet services.

The bulk of that, $11 million, would create a program to be managed by the public service department called Get Vermonters Connected Now. The money would provide subsidies to low-income Vermonters who can’t afford to use broadband networks already available in their neighborhoods. Internet providers could also tap the fund to extend lines to addresses they don’t reach, a service that can cost homeowners thousands of dollars.

Here, however, lawmakers face a major dilemma: How can they encourage existing telecoms to expand their coverage to underserved areas without undermining the communications districts popping up around the state to solve this very problem?

The legislature sent communities a message last year that “no one is coming to save you” when it comes to building out broadband networks, Sibilia said. Instead, the legislature passed a package of tools to make it easier for communities to band together to seek loans or grants to create telecom systems themselves.

The model has worked well in the Upper Valley, where 24 towns organized the first such district in 2011. The East Central Vermont Telecommunications District’s nonprofit service, ECFiber, now provides fiber-optic connections to about 13,000 residential customers.

There are currently six districts in the state, three of which — the NEK, Deerfield Valley and Southern Vermont communication union districts — were formed this year.

Evan Carlson, board chair of the new NEK district, said the connection challenges in the Northeast Kingdom permeate every aspect of life.

He pays $120 a month to a satellite internet provider for “really bad” service at his Sutton home. It took six months, he said, to get a fiber-optic line run to the Do North Coworking space in Lyndonville, where he is entrepreneur-in-residence.

“I feel the pain every day,” Carlson said. “For me, it’s very real to get this problem solved, not just for me, but for all my neighbors.”

Dreams of a sweeping statewide solution went out the window long ago as it became clear that the state lacks the financial capacity to pull it off, he said.

To string fiber throughout all 27 towns in the NEK district would cost an estimated $77 million, Carlson said. A 2019 report pegged the cost of extending broadband to the entire state at nearly $300 million, a figure Carlson said is probably far too low.

“I just don’t see the state ever unleashing the true volume of funds that are needed to do this in an efficient and effective way,” he said.

Some legislators expressed discomfort with abandoning the search for a statewide solution. Rep. Seth Chase

(D-Colchester) told his colleagues he wants to keep that goal, however difficult, alive.

“My hope is we can work toward one cohesive network where every corner of Vermont is connected, and not just little pockets at a time,” Chase said.

But the piecemeal approach that local districts take holds great promise, Carlson said. Districts can be more responsive to community needs, he said.

He pointed to a proposed project to provide wireless internet access for Northeast Kingdom families with schoolchildren as a good example of solutions that can be rolled out quickly.

The idea, put forth by Stowe-based Cloud Alliance and other partners, would install next-generation fixed wireless antennas on existing towers at Burke Mountain and in Lyndonville. While not an ideal solution, it’s a low-cost option that can help people now, Sibilia said.

“What is the fastest technology that we could get up that

could cover the most amount of people? It’s fixed wireless,” she said.

The key is to figure out how to subsidize expansion without harming the financial viability of local districts that are just getting rolling. They’ll need wide support if they are eventually to provide universal broadband.

To this end, the broadband bill includes a provision that would give districts some say in how the line-extension subsidies are doled out. Before the state grants funding for line extensions, districts would have 30 days to object if they’re worried the subsidies will allow a provider to cherry-pick customers.

“How do we act in a way that connects Vermonters but does not undercut the very Vermonters who have stepped forward to solve this problem once and for all?” Sibilia said.

“It’s a really fine balancing act.” m Contact: kevin@sevendaysvt.com

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Protesters Want the Works Marchers urge boycott of sandwich shop, cuts to police B Y DER EK B R O UWER

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NEWS

PHOTOS: LUKE AWTRY

few hundred demonstrators on Saturday urged a boycott of a Colchester sandwich shop whose owners are accused of making racist statements about nationwide police protests.

The group marched past the Hoagie Hut in Bellwood Plaza chanting, “Black lives matter” and “No justice, no peace!” before reconvening in a grassy area along Prim Road for rousing speeches about the legacy of American slavery in the country’s criminal justice and economic systems.

“They are just a piece of the systemic racism, covert and overt, in our community,” co-organizer Evelyn Monje, a 17-year-old Winooski High School student, said of the restaurant.

Saturday marked the third consecutive weekend of protests held in cities and towns across Vermont where attendees have called for a radical reimagining of public safety.

Similar rallies have sprouted across the country in the weeks since police in Minneapolis killed George Floyd on May 25.

The location of the Colchester event, which was promoted by the Burlingtonbased Peace & Justice Center and the Rooted Organizing Collective, was spurred by a June 2 Facebook post by a woman who claimed to have recently overheard a racist rant by the owners of Hoagie Hut while she was at the restaurant. One of the owners, the woman wrote, said police protesters “should all be shot” and that “people don’t know how bad blacks really are until they live around them.” The post has been shared hundreds of times.

Monje and co-organizer Olivia Pintair urged fellow protesters not to patronize the restaurant unless its owners apologize and “pledge to educating themselves in their racism.”

Reached by phone Saturday, Hoagie Hut co-owner Gary Vetters declined to comment.

Though protesters marched past the store, Monje instructed them not to stop or linger so as not to distract from the “systemic” injustices the group also sought to highlight.

Their other demands included reducing police department budgets, employing more social workers, and redirecting police resources toward education, housing and health care.

In so doing, the protesters expressed support for the burgeoning police divestment movement that has put pressure on

Protesters marching in Colchester

LET’S UNDERSTAND

WHERE THAT HATE IS COMING FROM.

M U G A B O W’ I S H EM A T HI ER RY U WI L I N G I Y I M A N A

public officials in places such as nearby Burlington, where hundreds of activists have called in to city meetings to present such demands (see page 28).

“Defund the police,” as some protesters’ signs read, is a slogan for a range of reforms that involve shrinking or eliminating armed police forces in favor of alternative forms of public safety that advocates say will better promote social justice. Standing on a picnic table and speaking through a megaphone, Pintair told the mask-clad protesters that American police act as enforcers of a racist system, intentionally or not.

“We need to invest in systems that keep each other safe, not in one that is shown statistically and viscerally to cause exponentially more harm than good for black and brown communities,” she said, as Monje held a fist in the air alongside her.

“We stand for creating a different society that is safe for everyone by investing in our communities instead of in the institution of policing that is responsible for the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Maurice Gordon and thousands more,” Pintair continued.

During a second round of speeches, Winooski science teacher and former Rwandan refugee Mugabo W’Ishema Thierry Uwilingiyimana cast racism as inherited ideology that sprang from the economic self-interest of slaveholders.

“It’s not about fighting the hate. It’s about getting to the root of this capitalist system that has dehumanized a whole group of people and essentially bought your silence,” he said.

The teacher urged the crowd not to “dehumanize or try to shame” the Hoagie Hut owners. “Let’s understand where that hate is coming from,” he said.

Organizers called upon those who had gathered to actively combat racism rather than merely strive not to be racist themselves.

“We need to be in full-blown rebellion,” Pintair said. “Otherwise, we are complicit.” m Contact: derek@sevendaysvt.com

Volunteers painting the mural on Saturday

Swedish Pit —

JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

The Volvo Specialist We are indeed grateful for you keeping us going through these difficult months and we are looking forward to keeping you and your Volvo rolling, as we have since 1973. ¡FACTOID! Volvo means “I roll” in Latin.

STATEHOUSE

Cops Search for Vandal Who Hit BLM Mural in Front of Statehouse

BY M AT TH E W ROY

COURTESY OF THE MONTPELIER POLICE DEPARTMENT

JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

On Saturday, hundreds of volunteers in Montpelier painted “Black Lives Matter” in huge block letters on the street in front of the Vermont Statehouse. By Sunday morning, someone had dumped dirt and oil on one of the letters and painted graffiti nearby.

Montpelier police said they were seeking the perpetrator, described as a white man who was captured on camera.

Gov. Phil Scott issued a statement denouncing the defacement as an “effort to fuel hate and division.”

“This act of vandalism only reinforces that we’re not immune to racism, divisiveness and hate in Vermont,” Scott said in a written statement. “We must redouble our efforts to dismantle systemic racism and bigotry, and stay united as Vermonters.”

House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) had joined the volunteers who painted the message.

“While it is easy to be disgusted and angered by the vandalism of these

Vandalism

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Hundreds of volunteers had turned out to paint the letters, with the blessing of the Montpelier City Council. Local activist Noel Riby-Williams organized the effort. By days’ end, the message was visible from the airspace above Montpelier.

The vandalism involved oil and dirt strewn along the “V” and graffiti on the sidewalk: “$400 million gone,” “put it back call Trump,” “We the pepbul” and other messages.

Montpelier police said officers were seeking a suspect caught on camera and published low-resolution photos. The man may have been present downtown while volunteers were painting, police said.

He was described as a white man, about 50 years old, who was 5 feet, 8 inches tall and 170 pounds, with scruffy facial hair. He wore a dark brimmed hat, a dark jacket and blue jeans. He was caught on camera“in the act,” police said, and the department was working to enhance the images. m

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SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

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6/10/20 5:51 PM

lifelines lines OBITUARIES

Richard Hammond

SEPTEMBER 23, 1957-MAY 26, 2020 BURLINGTON, VT. Richard “Dickie” Hammond of Crowley Street in Burlington passed away on May 26 from complications related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Born on September 23, 1957, to Richard and Georgette Hammond, Dickie lived in Burlington’s Old North End for his entire life.

A few years after graduating from Burlington High School, Dickie went to work for the City of Burlington Street Department (later renamed Department of Public Works) in October 1979. Over the course of the next 37 years, he rose from a laborer position to foreman of the Street Division of DPW. He took great pride in building and fixing the streets and sidewalks all across Burlington.

For nearly four decades, Dickie worked every winter around the clock to keep the streets and sidewalks safe for our community. A modest man who never sought attention, Dickie was proud that his work made life better for other people. For years Dickie rose before dawn to meet his coworkers for breakfast at the Doughboys Diner on Pearl Street.

When he finally retired in 2016, Dickie earned the distinction as one of the longest-serving city employees.

As much as Dickie loved his work at DPW, his proudest accomplishment was raising his children as a single father. He often said that Travis and Chelsea were the best thing that ever happened to him. Every time he left the house, neighbors could hear Dickie call out to them from his truck that he loved them and to be good. He always made sure his children were safe, healthy and educated.

Dickie was predeceased by his parents, Richard and Georgette Hammond, lifelong Burlington residents. Survivors include Travis Hammond and his daughter, Irelynn, of Burlington; and Chelsea Hammond and her partner, Raymond Laplante, of Burlington, and their children Sophia, Ray, Jayden and Jaelynn. Dickie is also survived by his brothers Randy (Priscilla), Robin (Jessica) and Robert, and his sisters Brenda and Linda.

A memorial service is planned for Sunday, June 21, from noon to 4 p.m. at the upper picnic shelter at Oakledge Park. Due to COVID-19, bring a chair, wear a mask and practice physical distancing. We will be serving burgers and hot dogs. Please bring a dish if possible.

20

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

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‘LEARN TO LISTEN’

and power. Racism, impunity for cops, and disproportionate violence against black and brown people are central to the divide-and-rule strategy that maintains the power of the 1 percent.

The modest demands of the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance — including the firing of three brutal Burlington cops, a 30 percent cut in uniformed officers, and reinvesting the money in communities of color — are long overdue.

But even such modest demands are too much for established power in the legislature. They instead attempt to divide and divert as they work hard to retain the multiple levels of impunity that protect the cops and perpetuate police misconduct.

That is why we need to be persistent and unrelenting in building the campaign for equal justice, defunding the police and abolishing all the levels of impunity for cops.

James Leas

SOUTH BURLINGTON

TRUST-FUND CANDIDATE?

[Re “Bleak House,” May 2]: There seems to have been a memo circulated in the trust fund community that if you come to Vermont, you can run for a seat in the state legislature and fool enough people to actually get elected. History bears this out with Madeleine Kunin, Howard Dean, Bernie Sanders, David Zuckerman and maybe a newcomer from Connecticut. It appears that Katherine Sims is now going to try another run for a seat in the state legislature.

She ran twice in the past and now has relocated to Craftsbury from Lowell. That could be a good move for her. She will have an easier time fooling those folks.

She states that she is running as a Democrat, but I believe she is really a Bernie bro with a progressive agenda. She has dabbled in the farm-to-school program and, recently, the program to bring internet access to rural towns, most of which have it if they choose to pay for it.

The main thing these people bring to Vermont is their personal growth agenda.

All it takes is for a clear-thinking taxpayer to look at the fact that this legislature has never seen anything it doesn’t want to tax.

It has made a mess of the state employees’ retirement plan, which is mismanaged and has a shortcoming of millions to fund the state employee pension plan. These progressive folks just supply the legislature with more bobble-headed members to support the Democrat-progressives’ lobbyist-run foolishness.

Gordon Spencer

LOWELL

A questioner near the end of Gov. Phil Scott’s press conference last Wednesday, June 10, wanted to know whether the governor supported white people’s right to speak who were reportedly not allowed to speak at a protest over the weekend in Montpelier. The event was one of many held in Vermont to protest racism and police violence against black people.

Why was the question asked? Might not people rallying to raise awareness about domestic violence turn away a speaker who supported domestic assault? Would the governor be asked to take a stand on that?

Might not people rallying for “right to life” decline to have a speaker who supports a woman’s right to choose? Would the governor be asked to take a stand on that? Might not Second Amendment advocates turn away a speaker who wanted to abolish the amendment? Would the governor be asked to take a stand on that?

Was the question an insinuation that white folks are being discriminated against when they are asked to listen to black people who have been on the receiving end of discrimination? Was the question raising doubt that black people can speak for themselves?

The question smacked of someone trying to make a case that white lives, as opposed to black lives, matter. The question smacked of white privilege.

White folks need to learn to listen.

Ross Connelly

HARDWICK

Connelly was the former editor and copublisher of the Hardwick Gazette.

DON’T FORGET ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE

When climate change is discussed, it is often with a degree of “climate panic,” which can be detrimental to action [“Degrees of Panic,” January 22]. During this pandemic, we don’t need more reasons to panic. We have an opportunity right now to leverage the lessons we are learning from COVID-19 and apply them to climate change.

We have observed frontline workers in Vermont adjusting their lives and expectations in order to serve their communities. We Vermonters know what it means to support our communities and each other, and we are seeing it happen right now.

Vermonters are resilient, adaptable and innovative. And we have the obligation now to act upon what we know is happening to support the sustainability of our environment and our communities. The Vermont legislature is proposing two big climate change bills: 1. the Global Warming Solutions Act (H.688), which

resets Vermont’s greenhouse gas emissions targets; and 2. the Climate Change Response Plan (S.185), which regards climate change as a public health threat.

So as we are still working from home, “being smart and staying safe,” we can still begin to take action on this larger issue by calling our senators, House representatives and governor to voice our support for these bills.

As Barack Obama said in his 2020 high school commencement speech: “Build a community. No one does big things by themselves.” Making change begins with small actions. We’re “Vermont Strong,” and we can leverage this moment to ensure the well-being of our state, country and planet for years to come.

Stephanie Clement

BURLINGTON

GRAY’S DAY

I’m writing to support Molly Gray for lieutenant governor [Off Message: “Molly Gray Kicks Off Campaign for Lieutenant Governor,” February 27]. I have known Molly’s family a very long time, from Hartland. I saw her show her grit in her competitive, successful Nordic skiing career.

Molly radiates bold, inspiring female leadership our state and country desperately need. She is the product of Vermont education through the University of Vermont and the Vermont Law School. She worked at the International Committee of the Red Cross in humanitarian service to communities in crises. Now her work in the Attorney General’s Office emphasizes those vulnerable people who need support and protection.

I came to Vermont in the 1970s, when there were great opportunities to build a family, enjoy the outdoors and have meaningful work. Molly wants to rebuild Vermont to be that place again. She is the only candidate who truly emphasizes the need to make Vermont the best place for young people to stay and bring new people in. Her commitment to supporting our farms and protecting vulnerable people puts her in front.

We need strong leadership in the Statehouse now, more than ever. Molly has what it takes to get us through a crisis like this, and she has the empathy for Vermonters first. She has energy, she’s smart, and her values are in the right place.

Please join me in voting for Molly Gray for lieutenant governor in the primary election on August 11. For information on voting by mail, go to the “Vote” page on mollyforvermont.com, check the Secretary of State’s website or call your town clerk.

Trine Bech

BURLINGTON

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arts news Small World

MUSIC

Scrag Mountain Music offers a musical fairy tale online B Y A M Y LI LLY

S

founders a composer and double bassist, and MARY BONHAG, a soprano, are offering 35 minutes of pure escape on their website. Technically, the free recording they’ve posted there is meant for children’s ears: It’s Thumbelina, the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale set to music by Premo.

But, really, who couldn’t use a dose of fantasy these days, as the real-world effects of the coronavirus extend into the bleary future? For adults and children alike, Premo’s musical storytelling vividly conjures the inch-high girl and her series of adventures in giant-scale nature before becoming queen of the fairies. It’s a temporary entrée into another world (virus-free!) created entirely in sound.

Bonhag narrates the story in a speaking voice and breaks into song for each character’s speech. She uses a different singing voice for each, from the vibrato-free Thumbelina to the nasally mother toad who abducts her.

22

CRAG MOUNTAIN MUSIC EVAN PREMO ,

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

Wind instruments conjure the essence of each creature the miniature girl encounters — clarinet for the white butterfly, alto flute for the june bug, bass clarinet for the mole and so on. Though flutes typically represent birds, a low-toned bassoon plays the swallow to convey how large it is from Thumbelina’s perspective. Premo’s double bass playing underlies and unites the story.

Premo composed the piece in the fall of 2019 with help from a VERMONT ARTS COUNCIL Creation Grant.

“It’s the first piece I’ve composed in this style, using the model of Prokofiev’s

I WAS TAKING INSPIRATION FROM ACTUAL NATURE SOUNDS

BUT ALSO GETTING MORE METAPHORICAL. E VAN P R E MO

COURTESY OF SCRAG MOUNTAIN MUSIC

Thumbelina illustration from Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale book, 1884

Peter and the Wolf,” he says during a phone call from the couple’s Marshfield home.

“The composition process was fun,” Premo recalls. “I was taking inspiration from actual nature sounds but also getting more metaphorical and creating sounds about the character of the animal. It was fun to go back and forth between those.”

To evoke the toad mom and her son, for instance, Premo had the bassoon play croaky-sounding multiphonics — a technique that imitates a chord. He also used piccolo tremolos to directly imitate toad calls during breeding season. “I listened to different recordings [of breeding calls] so I could find the actual pitch,” he says.

Bonhag participated in the composition process, too. “The character voices are one of the last things we did,” Premo explains.

“Mary had great ideas, and she really brought them to life. She’s just an amazing storyteller. When she’s reading to the kids, I love listening.”

During composition, Premo would play computer renderings of each character’s

music for the couple’s boys, who are 5 and 7, to get their input. “Glenn [7] really liked the toad music — it’s low-pitched, floppy music,” he recalls.

Thumbelina was a central part of Scrag’s planned program for its Musical Storytelling for All Ages concerts in February, along with The Three Billy Goats Gruff by James Scott Balentine, The Ugly Duckling by Jon Deak, and other works in the genre. The couple and their visiting musician friends from New York City planned on performing the program in several towns and for some 2,000 schoolchildren — until a large snowstorm forced cancellation of most of the concerts.

“All the New York City musicians were already here,” Premo says, referring to Catherine Gregory, who plays two flutes and the piccolo on the Thumbelina recording; Paul Wonjin Cho, who plays two clarinets; and bassoonist Brad Balliett. So the group filled the time by making a professional recording at singer-songwriter and audio engineer COLIN MCCAFFREY’s nearby home studio, the GREENROOM. The recording is bookended with Premo’s spoken introduction — modeled on Leonard Bernstein’s introduction to Peter and the Wolf, minus the condescending quiz format — and a “challenge” in which Premo asks young listeners to think of their favorite character from another story and which instrument might best represent it.

“We’re hoping by the end of the summer to get a bunch of submissions, choose three and pair up those ideas with some of our musician friends around the country,” Premo says. These kid-inspired characters in music will then be posted on the website.

While the Thumbelina recording has lived on Scrag’s website for a while, Premo and Bonhag have waited until Wednesday, June 17, to announce its release on social media in order to “honor the Black Lives Matter movement,” says Premo. Now the piece is there for the taking — just as Scrag’s concerts follow a “pay as you can” model.

“We’re basically giving this away, at least for the time being,” says the composer. “We wanted it to be a free gift offering, especially for this time, so parents can play it for their kids. We wanted to come at this from a place of generosity.”

Contact: lilly@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Learn more at scragmountainmusic.org.

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As tattoo shops reopen, clients express need for nurturing

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was etching a skull, partly obscured by two large roses, into SAGE RUFFLE’s left arm.

The Stowe tattoo and piercing shop is normally closed on Mondays, but since it reopened on June 2, after a mandatory three-month hiatus, Vindigni has been coming in to work six days a week to keep up with his bookings.

The tattooing encounter, which hinges on prolonged proximity, doesn’t quite lend itself to social distancing. To contain their microbes, Vindigni and his clients wear a mask at all times. Walk-ins are no longer allowed; clients can’t bring friends or family members with them for moral support during their sessions. During the three months that Monkey House was closed, owner RYANN SCHOFIELD had to take out a loan to pay the rent.

Between the loss of revenue and the general bewilderment of navigating the unemployment application process, it hasn’t been an especially relaxing break for Schofield or her artists: “Most of us

CHELSEA EDGAR

ADAM VINDIGNI

did not receive a dime until May,” she said.

While Vindigni was stuck at home, he drew a lot of tattoos, including the skulland-roses creation he was outlining on Ruffle’s arm. Ruffle, who recently went back to work at a hair salon near Monkey House, saw it on Vindigni’s Instagram in the doldrums of quarantine. Ruffle is very much a tattoo person; a vaguely fearsome horned serpent adorns her right upper arm, along with a smattering of botanical illustrations. Being able to come in for an appointment, even a masked one, feels like a sliver of the pre-pandemic world.

“This is a completely normal occurrence for me,” she said, looking mostly Untitled-11 blissed out as Vindigni scratched purple ink into her skin, a sensation she likened to exfoliating a sunburn with sandpaper.

Since Monkey House reopened, Vindigni said, he’s noticed an unusually high demand for motherhoodthemed tattoos. Last week, artist ANNE WINSLOW and Schofield both did the same INKBLOTS

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Adam Vindigni tattooing Sage Ruffle SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

23

arts news

Writers and Lovers Streaming video review: Shirley B Y M AR GO T HA R R I SON COURTESY OF NEON

atmospheric fable about feminist mentorship with a dash of sapphic desire — a good enough idea, but sabotaged by the blandness of its nominal heroine. I found myself wishing the pretty young houseguests would leave already and allow me to spy on the deep dysfunction of the older pair in peace.

IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY...

•Adaptations of Jackson’s work have been hit or miss, but Robert Wise’s original 1963 The Haunting (rentable on various services) is superlative, and Stacie Passon’s 2018 We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Tubi; rentable on various services) is decent, with a fine performance by Taissa Farmiga as the unstable narrator Merricat.

•I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (Netflix): Oz Perkins’ 2016 film about a paranoid nurse caring for an elderly horror novelist plays like an homage to Jackson’s work, suffused in her combination of creepiness and dry wit.

•Agatha (rentable on various services): Like Shirley, this 1979 film about Agatha Christie’s brief disappearance in 1926 combines biopic elements with mystery, featuring an acclaimed turn by Vanessa Redgrave.

Michael Stuhlbarg and Elisabeth Moss in Shirley

W

here do we find entertainment these days? On our laptops and in our living rooms. The streaming options are overwhelming — and not always easy to sort through. So, in this weekly feature, I review a movie or series that might otherwise be easy to overlook.

THE MOVIE: Shirley (2020)

Hulu; rentable on various services, including the Vermont International Film Foundation’s Virtual Cinema program.

THE DEAL: At midcentury, Rose Nemser (Odessa Young) accompanies her professor husband (Logan Lerman) to Bennington College, where he’s secured a job. The young couple boards with older prof Stanley Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg) and his wife, Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss), who recently became a literary celebrity for her dark short story “The Lottery.”

At Stanley’s urging, pregnant Rose takes over the domestic tasks of the household for Shirley, who is depressive, borderlineagoraphobic and struggling with her next WHERE TO SEE IT:

24

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

novel. Meanwhile, Stanley enjoys his pick of a “harem” of adoring female students.

Shirley knows he’s unfaithful, and wicked barbs fly between the pair.

At first, Rose is repelled by Shirley’s sharp tongue, but she soon becomes fascinated with the older woman’s fertile imagination and general witchy aura. Together, the two investigate the real-life disappearance of Bennington student Paula Jean Welden on the Long Trail, which inspired Jackson’s novel Hangsaman (1951). Will Rose grow from this partnership, or will she end up becoming another lost girl?

WILL YOU LIKE IT? First things first: No, Shirley wasn’t shot in Vermont (Vassar College stood in for Bennington), and no, it doesn’t hew closely to the biography of one of Vermont’s most famous writers. Loosely adapted from Susan Scarf Merrell’s novel of the same name, the screenplay by Sarah Gubbins revises the timeline of Jackson’s life and makes her childless — quite a change, considering that the real Jackson wrote prolifically about raising her four kids when she wasn’t crafting her brainy gothic tales.

This isn’t a biopic so much as fan fiction.

Steamy fan fiction, too, with an indiemovie gloss. The opening scene finds Rose reading “The Lottery” on the train to Bennington. The scenario of small-town stoning apparently gets her so hot and bothered that she grabs her husband, and soon they’re getting busy just out of sight of their fellow passengers.

Director Josephine Decker (Madeline’s Madeline) gives the whole movie a dreamy, quasi-mystical eroticism that is easy on the eye but harder for the brain to process. With no backstory or discernible personality, Rose feels like an empty vessel; frankly, it’s not always clear why Shirley gives her the time of day.

Yet Moss’ star turn manages to redeem the film, for all its frustratingly mannered aspects. Alternately socially awkward, snarling and seductive, with a sly wit she deploys like a razor blade, this Shirley is utterly believable. Moss and Stuhlbarg have a compelling marital rapport, too: While Stanley plays the jovial host, Shirley’s creativity is fiercely private. When these two spar, Shirley throws off sparks.

Decker seems to be trying to craft an

Contact: margot@sevendaysvt.com

NOW PLAYING Sunset Drive-In Through Thursday, June 18 Trolls & Jumanji: The Next Level Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone & Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Baby Driver & Knives Out The Invisible Man & The Hunt Friday, June 19, through Thursday, June 25 Schedule not available at press time.

Bethel Drive-In Friday, June 19, through Sunday, June 21 Jaws

Fairlee Drive-In Friday, June 19, & Saturday, June 20 Sonic the Hedgehog & Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker Sunday, June 21 Schedule not available at press time.

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Inkblots « P.23 design for two different clients: a silhouette of a mother and child embracing, their bodies rendered in celestial blues and bruise-colored, nebular dust swirls.

“There’s definitely more of a family sense right now,” said Vindigni, fitting a piece of tape on his nose to keep his mask from slipping off while he worked. “Probably because people have had all this time to figure out what’s really important to them.”

“My friend Cheyanne got a breastfeeding tattoo from Anne the other day,” said Ruffle. She pulled up a picture of the design on Winslow’s Instagram: a vignette of a Madonna-like figure with flowers in her hair, nursing a baby. “Cheyanne loves her breastfeeding bond with her kids. She’s, like, deeeep mom.”

According to Schofield, maternal imagery has been trending at other shops; at TRUE TATTOO in St. Albans, an artist she knows drew the same mother-child silhouette for one of his clients.

“I keep seeing that one, in particular, with kids’ names, or the galaxy effect, or a family crest,” Schofield said. “It’s just weird to have so many people getting the same image. I think the COVID thing really scared people, and it seems like mothers, specifically, are feeling this urge to express their love for their children.”

BRENNA KEEFE, who owns True Tattoo, looks askance at the “trendiness” of the mother-child ink phenomenon. “It’s just a timeless thing, like skulls and roses,” she said. “Honestly, most people don’t know what they want. When they see something on Pinterest or social media, they

think that’s what they should get, because other people are getting it, too.”

Like Monkey House, Keefe has a backlog of clients — some of whom tried, unsuccessfully, to get her to tattoo them at home while her shop was shut down. After being open for less than two weeks, she’s already booked through midSeptember; even people who lost income because of the pandemic haven’t canceled their sessions.

“People need their ink,” Keefe said.

“It’s a primitive thing for humans to want body art, and COVID isn’t going to change that.”

Now that people can get tattooed again, Monkey House’s Vindigni said, his clients seem more needy, almost childlike. “People have been demanding to know why they can’t just walk in and get an appointment today, or they want to know our address, which is all over the internet. They seem to need so much attention all of a sudden.”

Another curious thing, he noted, is that people are revealing much more of themselves in their appointment requests. “When they email me, they’re telling me way more about why they want to get the tattoo they want to get,” he said.

“There’s always a symbology behind the things people choose, but I feel like we’re getting more of the story now.” m

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Tattoo by Ryann Schofield Untitled-4 1

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

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BOTTOM LINE BY KEN PICARD

Change Agency F The firm Abundant Sun rises amid COVID-19 and racial injustice crises

26

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

JAMES BUCK

or Jude Smith Rachele, 2020 has been one hell of a year to be in the business of cultural change.

Rachele (pronounced “RaKELLY”) is cofounder and CEO of Abundant Sun. The Burlington-based global consulting firm, which describes itself as a “cultural transformation agency,” helps the managers of government agencies, corporations and nonprofits reform their workplaces to be more just, equitable and true to their professed values.

Founded in 2003, Abundant Sun comprises two entities — one in the United Kingdom, the other in Vermont. Most of its operational team is 15 self-employed, UK-based associates who work under the Abundant Sun banner and serve mostly British governmental departments, universities and global law firms.

In the U.S., Abundant Sun’s half dozen consultants work primarily with human services agencies, renewable energy companies, not-for-profits, cooperatives and credit unions. Its Vermont clients include the Howard Center, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation and City Market, Onion River Co-op. A few weeks ago, Gov. Phil Scott appointed Rachele to serve on his coronavirus Economic Mitigation & Recovery Task Force.

A native of Maplewood, N.J., Rachele identifies as “culturally British” and speaks with a slight English accent, the product of having lived in London and Europe for 28 years. After getting her bachelor’s degree in psychology at Rutgers University in New Jersey, she earned her PhD in business management at Kingston University in London. It was in London that she met Rollin Rachele, her now-husband and business partner. The couple moved to Burlington with their children in 2015.

Rachele is no mere diversity and inclusion trainer, though she started her career as one before growing disillusioned by the lack of forward momentum in that field.

Today, she’s more of a systems analyst, though the “systems” she troubleshoots don’t involve computer software but networks of people and how they interact within an office culture.

One of her joys, she said, is performing workplace climate and culture surveys for her clients to determine how satisfied their employees are and whether they feel the organization’s values align with their own.

She then analyzes those data to determine whether there are meaningful differences in how people from different backgrounds

Jude Smith Rachele

— based on their race, age, gender, sexual orientation, length of service and the like — experience the same work culture.

Rachele likens her work to that of a chiropractor who checks a patient’s spine to see if it’s aligned and discovers that one hip is higher than the other and causing pain.

EVEN BEFORE THE MURDER OF MR. FLOYD, WE WERE

IN THE THROES OF A MUCH WIDER CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION. J U DE SMITH R AC H E L E

“It’s the same kind of diagnostic that you’re doing of the culture of an organization,” she said. “When there’s pain and grief and underperformance in your culture, then we need to figure out how to transform it for the good.”

This year’s first paradigm-shifting event — the pandemic — has had a mixed

impact on Abundant Sun’s bottom line.

The company’s UK-based operations, most of which involved traditional face-toface meetings and corporate trainings, all ground to a halt as that country went into lockdown. Rachele’s UK team used the down time as an opportunity to rebrand the business and figure out how to work more effectively in the virtual space, she said.

Meanwhile, the company’s U.S.-based work continued pretty much as usual, she said. In fact, some of their projects helped lay the foundation for how clients’ organizations responded to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and the social outcry it sparked.

“Even before the murder of Mr. Floyd, we were in the throes of a much wider cultural transformation,” Rachele explained. “When you’re asking people to stay at home and not go outside, you’re transforming your culture. When you’re asking people to wear face masks, you’re changing behavior and reworking people’s neural networks. You’re changing people’s emotional reactions to one another and their relationships to the world.”

Prior to coronavirus, Rachele was working with one client to establish a workplace “culture committee” to address

unresolved conflicts and fractious relationships between employees and board members. A subset of that committee, she explained, was assigned to “be on the lookout” for external events that could affect their business and how the organization would address those events.

Then, as massive street demonstrations against police brutality erupted across the United States and worldwide, Rachele said, her client “had the players in place” who were already discussing race and bias.

“It was an opportunity for voices that are not usually heard within a predominantly white, liberal organization to say, ‘Listen! We need to address the bias inside the system,’” she said. “‘I know we’re all good, well-meaning people, but there’s shit that goes on here every day that you don’t know you’re doing!’”

The resurgence of the Black Lives Matters movement has presented Abundant Sun with obvious financial opportunities. Business development has “grown exponentially” in recent weeks, Rachele said, as new clients have approached her and old clients have circled back, all seeking guidance in how to speak to their clients and each other about race and inequality.

But Rachele doesn’t want to come across as opportunistic. She cited a scene from the 2003 documentary The Corporation, in which an African American trader on Wall Street is interviewed about 9/11 and admits that his first thought upon hearing the news was that the price of gold must be going through the roof.

“That’s where we are today. The price of gold has gone up,” Rachele said. Last week, she got an email from a Londonbased colleague asking whether she was interested in doing a webinar for “a major Japanese financial institution” about Black Lives Matter.

Though Rachele is eager to seize this unique moment in history to discuss racial equality and ethical governance, she’s not looking to hire new consultants and overextend the business — or herself.

As she put it, “I have to make sure, as the CEO of Abundant Sun, that I do this right.” m Contact: ken@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Bottom Line is a series on how Vermont businesses are faring during the pandemic.

Got a tip? Email bottomline@sevendaysvt.com.

HACKIE

A VERMONT CABBIE’S REAR VIEW BY JERNIGAN PONTIAC

Every Third Sunday

I

’m riveted by personal stories of Vermont’s rural past, perhaps because, as a city boy, it’s so foreign to me. And it’s part and parcel of my lifelong love affair with my adopted state.

Leonard “Lenny” Kailash was sharing his family history with me from the back seat of my taxi. Now in his seventies, he still resides in Milton. On this sunny, warm afternoon, we were en route to his home after his successful heart surgery and week in recovery.

Lenny grew up on a Milton farm started by his grandfather and passed on to his father. “My dad was determined that me and my brother follow in his footsteps and keep it going.”

“So, did that happen?” I asked. “Is the farm still in the family?”

“Nope, my brother and I sold it off piece by piece after our dad died. I had actually left the farm years earlier when I was first married. My brother did his best, but the economics of farming were making it near impossible for a small operation like ours to break even, let alone make a profit.”

“What were the circumstances of you getting out when you were a young man? That must have been a wrenching decision.”

“That it was,” Lenny said.

In the rearview mirror, I saw a faraway look come into my customer’s eyes as he seemed to gaze back in time.

“I’ll tell ya the story if you’re interested,” he continued. “In my mind, it’s like it happened yesterday.”

“I’m totally interested, Lenny. I’m, like, you know, all ears.”

“OK, then,” he said, chuckling at my enthusiasm. “Like I said, I had just gotten married. Darlene, my bride, was a city girl from Connecticut.”

“From Connecticut?” I interjected.

“How’d you two — as the kids say — ‘hook up’?”

“We hooked up while Darlene was vacationing here with her parents one summer. This was back when Vermont was just getting popular with tourists.

In fact — and this is kinda funny — that’s how we learned about this thing called a ‘vacation.’

“Working on the farm was a sevenday-a-week job. We never took time off.

Except, yeah, in the winter we had off

And I put in 30 years at IBM before I retired.

“My wife passed a few years ago,” Lenny went on. “You know, 50 years together, we never had one fight. OK, we mighta had a few arguments, but no fights.”

The two of us laughed together at his parsing of the terms. I thought, If it takes a little verbal gymnastics to stay happily married for half a century, I’m all for it.

We reached Arrowhead Mountain Lake, Milton’s reservoir, and hung a left

MY LEAVING THE FARMING WAS TOUGH ON MY DAD,

BUT ULTIMATELY HE UNDERSTOOD.

every third Sunday. This was on account of the cows keeping in the barn during wintertime, so we didn’t have to chase them around outside.”

I could relate, I thought, chuckling to myself. Not to the cow chasing but to the lack of vacations and time off. I’ve been an inveterate seven-day-a-week guy for too many years to mention.

“When we first got married, we lived on the family property,” Lenny continued. “For a year, I kept working on the farm making essentially no money. Darlene got an administrative job in Burlington at what was then the DeGoesbriand Hospital. That was, like, our only real income.

“This was the time when IBM was just getting going in Essex. I applied for a job and somehow got hired. When I got my first paycheck, I could hardly fathom how much money I was making!

My leaving the farming was tough on my dad, but ultimately he understood.

onto Lake Road. After years of being the subject of redneck jokes, the town has developed mightily over the past 20 years, with business and housing development galore. But there are still a few working farms. The long and winding Lake Road, which traverses the town’s northwest territory, offers a snapshot into Milton’s largely bygone agricultural past.

“You see that old farmhouse?” Lenny asked, pointing to the left. “That used to be the Towne Farm. They used to hold a high-stakes poker game in the farmhouse every weekend, and bigtime gamblers would drive down from Montréal. They never got hassled by the authorities because the local sheriff was a regular player.”

About a half mile east of Lake Champlain, we pulled into Lenny’s driveway.

His home was situated on a small, unsold corner of the old family farm. Standing by the front door was a petite and

winsome older lady with short blond hair. At her feet sat two filled supermarket paper bags.

Lenny gingerly exited the taxi and said, “Aw, Sandy, thanks so much for meeting me here, but you didn’t have to go shopping. I just appreciated your checking in at my place while I was at the hospital.”

The woman smiled, and I thought I detected a touch of coyness in her countenance and stance. “Now, Lenny,” she explained, “I did check in, and I saw that your cupboards and fridge were nearly bare. What you did have in stock was mostly stale, spoiled or just junk food.

Let’s get you settled inside, and I’ll cook you a proper dinner.”

I carried the bags as Sandy walked ahead of us into the house. Sotto voce, I asked, “So, what’s the deal here, Lenny?

That’s a good-looking woman. She single?”

Chuckling, Lenny smiled and shook his head. “I know, but it’s not like that,” he explained.

“You know what? I believe it is like that, or could be. Like they say — time’s a-wastin’. If I were you, I’d scoop her up while I still can.”

“Jeez, could you cut it out, please?

She’ll hear you.”

“Hey, I’m just sayin’,” I whispered.

No extra charge for the matchmaking, I wanted to add but managed to stifle. m All these stories are true, though names and locations may be altered to protect privacy.

INFO Hackie is a twice-monthly column. To reach Jernigan, email hackie@sevendaysvt.com.

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T

he speakers just kept coming.

On June 8, some 250 people Zoomed in to a Burlington Board of Finance meeting. The next night, 100 more flooded a virtual gathering of the city’s citizen police commission. One after another, they laid out their demands: Cut the number of officers in the Burlington Police Department, invest in communities of color, get cops out of schools, and fire those with a history of violence.

The activists, spurred into action by the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance, asked that the city council not pass a budget until the demands were met.

28

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

“I am outraged,” Rebecca McBroom told the finance board last week. “I’m infuriated to live in this country and to see the way the African Americans are treated after 400 years. We have not progressed.

We have not gone forward. We have seen enough. And we are calling on you because Burlington is no better.”

In just two days, Queen City officials heard, in two-minute snippets, more than 10 hours of citizen testimony — a record even in a city known for its politically engaged populace.

By midweek, Mayor Miro Weinberger had vowed to reduce the police budget for fiscal year 2021, which the council must approve before July 1. A few days later, during a press conference on Monday, he announced $1.1 million in cuts to the proposed $17.4 million police

budget. About $300,000 would be shifted to social service agencies and to fund a second position in the city’s newly created Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. Most of the savings — $800,000 — would go toward reducing a $12 million budget shortfall caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

For many activists, the cuts in police spending don’t go deep enough, and nearly 1,000 people came out to say so at a virtual city council meeting Monday night.

“It is not OK for the mayor to believe that he has a better plan than the people who have been in this work for a long time,” Ashley Laporte told councilors.

“If you pass this budget without meeting these demands, you are not hearing us, and you do not represent us,” Karla Salazar said.

“This takes courage. It takes leadership,” Llu Mulvaney-Stanak urged the council. “We can lead Vermont. We can lead this country. Get fired fucking up right now.”

Only a fraction of all the speakers had a chance to talk before the meeting was halted at 2:30 a.m. But councilors themselves echoed many of the activists’ complaints.

In an interview Tuesday morning, Councilor Jane Stromberg (P-Ward 8) said she wouldn’t even classify Weinberger’s proposed changes as cuts.

Progressive councilors are working on a resolution that proposes police reforms “above and beyond” the mayor’s, she said.

“I would love to just walk up to Miro and go, ‘Are you kidding me?’” Stromberg said. “We need to totally gut the system and really rebuild, reevaluate what we need as a community.”

Over the last century, policing has come to be regarded as an essential public service — and police budgets as inviolable. Law enforcement spending has ballooned to pay for more training, more officers and more modern equipment. Speaking against such spending has been politically untenable for many elected officials, even as crime rates nationwide have plummeted.

George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis last month has changed the conversation.

Floyd, a black man, died after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Chauvin was fired and has been charged with seconddegree murder. Three cops who stood by were also fired and face charges of aiding and abetting Floyd’s death.

Video of the slow-motion killing has sparked weeks of nationwide protests, vigils and, in some cities, riots. What began as a protest against police violence has quickly blossomed into nationwide calls to eradicate the racism that infects American society. In Vermont, Gov. Phil Scott and leaders from the largest law enforcement agencies have rushed to express support for the message that black lives matter.

Far less certain is the extent to which those leaders — and many of the thousands of people who have recently joined local protests or used online hashtags — support the movement’s sweeping agenda. Black activists and an increasing number of white allies say symbolic gestures and incremental reforms aren’t enough. Many want the institutions that oppress people of color to be dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up, starting with law enforcement.

The push to “defund the police” is quickly becoming the next fault line in the long and troubled quest for racial

OPERATION PHOENIX

The Vermont Racial Justice Alliance formed in 2017 and is now an arm of Justice for All, a Burlington-based criminal justice reform organization.

Led by a 20-person steering committee, the alliance has organized several notable efforts to spotlight issues faced by communities of color.

The group helped to create Vermont’s first state-level racial equity director position, now held

by Xusana Davis. It advocated for a similar position in Burlington; Tyeastia Green, who grew up on the Minneapolis block where Floyd was killed, started work in early April.

The alliance’s goal is to eliminate in Vermont the forms of discrimination long embedded in American society and perpetuated by civic and economic institutions. One example of such systemic racism, advocates say, is the disproportionate rate at which police historically stop, search and arrest black drivers.

There are other examples in law enforcement. In Burlington, some 20 percent of police use-of-force incidents

JAMES BUCK

justice. Some activists have used the phrase to call for the complete abolition of police departments in favor of community-based alternatives. But most advocates, including many in Vermont, use the slogan as shorthand for reducing police budgets and reallocating those dollars to social services.

Critics call the concept a dangerous, knee-jerk reaction that would leave communities less safe by making it harder for police to respond to crimes. Supporters argue that police spend much of their time dealing with problems stemming from homelessness, poverty and mental illness. They say that better-funded social services could handle many of those responsibilities in a way that is safer for residents of low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

In Vermont, the calls for reallocating some police spending go beyond liberal Burlington. Activists are pressing city and town councils around the state to reconfigure or cut funding for police. Some lawmakers have questioned whether the Vermont State Police budget of $70 million is justified.

Could Floyd’s death, some 1,300 miles away, prove to be a tipping point in Vermont?

“I don’t care to make any projections on this thing at all, but one thing I can tell you for certain,” said Mark Hughes, the coordinator of the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Activists confronting Burlington police chiefs at a May 30 protest

during the seven-year period ending in 2018 involved black people, who comprise just 5 percent of the city’s population. The alliance has called for a 30 percent reduction in uniformed police officers.

Reducing police budgets is just one way of changing the system, but it’s a concept that white people can understand, Hughes said.

use when they called in to Burlington meetings — information that allies publicized by distributing posters around the city. The alliance then launched Operation Phoenix, a plan that would “transform the lives of black and brown people by investing in their lives, holding space for their culture, providing them opportunity and ensuring the equity they deserve to thrive.”

“All it is is a means to an end, because we know there are two things about the police that are true: No. 1, they have their knees on our neck. And No. 2, they have money that we need to mitigate or to eradicate systemic racism,” Hughes said.

After Floyd’s death, the alliance reached out to community activists and other organizations to mobilize a response.

The group sent out a script for people to

The plan calls for the creation of a task force that would consider reparations for Burlington’s role in chattel slavery. It also asks the city to fund data collection efforts on racial equity and inclusion, and to declare racism a citywide health crisis, something Weinberger has said he will do.

But with the council set to adopt a budget by month’s end, the demand to cut police funding has taken center stage.

‘NOT MORE VIOLENCE’

The case against Sgt. Jason Bellavance was closed before most people knew he’d done anything wrong. On September 9, 2018, a man smoking outside JP’s Pub saw the Burlington police shift supervisor approach two men who were arguing on a sidewalk. Without warning, Bellavance shoved Jérémie Meli, 25, a Congolese immigrant and local DJ, toward a wall. Meli was knocked out cold, triggering a chaotic scene as his distraught brothers yelled at the officer who’d injured him.

Within two hours, the witness filed an online citizen complaint with police. A subsequent internal investigation concluded that Bellavance had used unnecessary force. After confidential input from the Burlington Police Commission, the sergeant was quietly suspended without pay for between two and three weeks, according to the department.

Police bodycam footage of the encounter only surfaced eight months later, when the Meli brothers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit. Their attorneys released the video along with footage from another September 2018 downtown incident in which Officer Joseph Corrow knocked out

CUT THE POLICE SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

» P.30 29

JAMES BUCK

Cut the Police « P.29 Mabior Jok, a Sudanese refugee, during an arrest. Jok is also suing the department.

The videos of police violence against young black men became public as the department faced another public relations crisis. Officer Cory Campbell had slugged Douglas Kilburn during a physical confrontation outside the University of Vermont Medical Center in March 2019.

Kilburn, who was white, died days later, and the medical examiner said the officer’s blows contributed to his death.

The new videos caused immediate outcry.

Activists staged a speak-out rally at city hall and read off the names of black people killed by police. A small group formed BTV CopWatch and began observing officers in real time, armed with cellphone cameras.

Black Lives Matter of Greater Burlington convened an emergency community meeting to demand accountability from the police. Members penned a list of demands very similar to the current one: Fire Bellavance, Corrow and Campbell; require timely release of bodycam videos; and “halt the hiring of new officers, and instead employ more social workers for the community.”

“What our community needs is more support, not more violence,” the organization’s official response said. “As the police officers of the BPD have shown an inability to de-escalate and an instinct of violence, their presence does not promote safety in our community.”

In early June 2019, three Progressive city councilors introduced a resolution to codify the demands. To other city officials, the idea was a nonstarter. Jackie Corbally, a civilian who serves as the Burlington Police Department’s opioid policy manager, told councilors that asking social workers to respond to emergency calls without armed backup would be “incredibly dangerous.”

Democratic councilors called the resolution “anti-union.” They argued that the police should weigh in on proposed reforms and that the council should trust the chief to assess how many officers the city needs on patrol. Councilor Joan Shannon (D-South District) said that Burlington needed more cops. “I know, in my neighborhood, there are times when we call the police because we need them, but they can’t come because they have higher priorities downtown,” she said.

Even some Progs said they were unwilling to limit the size of the force. “It’s the piece of this resolution which is perhaps the most objectionable and will lead to its defeat tonight,” Councilor Brian Pine (P-Ward 3) said.

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SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

Protesters leaving signs outside the Burlington Police Department after a May 30 rally

“Here’s the bottom line on this,” an impassioned Weinberger said. “We are very fortunate to have a great police department. We have a great police department because of decades of strong leadership.”

The measure failed on a 9-3 vote, with only its sponsors voting in support.

“Other councilors were pretty incredulous,” lead sponsor Councilor Jack Hanson (P-East District) recalled last week about the Prog proposal. “People thought it was absurd. They ridiculed it.”

Instead, councilors created a special committee to review the department’s use-of-force policy and other directives.

The group issued a report in February recommending that a new policy require officers to de-escalate situations whenever possible and intervene when they witness other officers using excessive force. The coronavirus pandemic sidelined discussion on the group’s recommendations, but Weinberger revived the issue after Floyd’s death. The police commission passed the updated policy Tuesday.

“I feel considerable urgency to put this new policy in place,” the mayor said earlier this month.

By then, protests had swept through Burlington, as well as dozens of small Vermont towns that had previously seemed removed from the controversies of urban policing. Activists took the opportunity to call for bolder reforms.

“People in the community, whether that’s here in Burlington, statewide or nationwide, are really looking for ways to channel their energy through that sadness or hopelessness or just rage,” said Skyler Nash, a Vermont Racial Justice Alliance steering committee member.

“All different types of people … are waking up to the fact that the way things have been is wrong, and it’s not OK, and we’re not going to accept the status quo going forward,” he said.

In some ways, Burlington is back to where it was a year ago. Activists are calling for a reduction in the number of police officers and for the firing of Bellavance, Corrow and Campbell. But this time, the city council and the mayor are paying attention.

“There’s an army of people who are ready to organize, ready to elevate their voices in ways that [are] going to make this a lot harder for anybody who’s trying to ignore it,” Nash said.

THE MOVEMENT SPREADS

Burlington isn’t the only Vermont city where citizens have marched in the streets to demand change, nor is it the only one where activists are arguing that police reforms won’t suffice.

The St. Albans Police Department has been tarnished in the last year by a string of officer misconduct claims and criminal

charges. Jason Lawton, a former union steward and shift supervisor, faces an assault charge for delivering an uppercut to a handcuffed woman in a holding cell last year. A more recent recruit, Zachary Pigeon, was charged in April with rape and kidnapping while off duty, months after police brass had reprimanded him for using a racial slur in a joke to a biracial colleague. Two other recent departures — corporals Joel Daugreilh and Mark Schwartz — face ongoing criminal probes related to their on-duty conduct.

After months of denying a culture problem on a force with fewer than 30 sworn officers, city officials in April hired an outside consultant to review the department’s hiring practices. Longtime Chief Gary Taylor announced his upcoming retirement shortly thereafter.

None of the incidents had generated much public protest. At an August 2019 St. Albans City Council meeting, shortly after Seven Days published video of Lawton’s punch, a 68-year-old resident was the department’s lone critic.

But last week, when the city council met virtually over Zoom, several residents were waiting in the digital queue. Kate Larose asked each councilor, as well as the mayor, to describe their “ideal” hopes for police reform and oversight. Resident Angie Sturm asked city leaders to move money from the police budget to other human services.

“The corruption of the St. Albans Police Department is not new, and it’s been going on for decades. It’s time for the city council to take the side of the people and stop defending the police as an institution,” said Marianne Hunkin, a St. Albans resident who runs a youth mentoring program.

“The St. Albans Police Department is beyond reform, and it is not enough to bring on a new police chief,” she said. “I call on you to consider how to better invest in our community and am demanding divestment from the police.”

circumstances. “Any time you take a national call, a one-size-fits-all approach, it can be difficult to scale it up and apply to Vermont’s communities,” he said.

But he was more amenable to posting departmental data online. “We just weren’t aware anyone was interested in it,” he said.

In fact, Hunkin told Seven Days this week, she had requested some information from the police department last October.

Angered by the Lawton video, she joined BTV CopWatch activists for a shift in St. Albans last summer and talked to some

broader view of what policing might look like in our community: We hear you,” the statement reads.

The divestment call isn’t likely to spur immediate action, because the city already approved its budget for this year. But Reier Erickson, an activist who bought a home in St. Albans last year, said the city must begin “a reimagining of what police do and a reinvesting in our community.”

That work extends beyond city hall to community organizing in a city that Erickson said can sometimes feel “like a bubble.”

“As a black man living in Vermont … I’ve had scary interactions with the police,” he said. “But the big incidents in St. Albans weren’t black people. That woman in the jail cell who was punched in the face by a police officer wasn’t black.”

Erickson continued: “The more we think about this as a community unity problem and not just a problem affecting people who are oppressed, the more traction it will get.”

‘WE NEED POLICE’

LUKE AWTRY

Protesters marching Saturday in Colchester

Under the name Neighbors for a Safer St. Albans, 11 activists followed up with a letter and a series of records requests.

They wanted a roster of every officer on the force. They wanted to understand the police budget. They wanted six years of traffic stop data, and they wanted to know why the data hadn’t already been published on the city’s website.

City manager Dominic Cloud said the questions appeared to be inspired by the recently reignited racial justice movement.

“They weren’t actively engaged until the Floyd incident,” he said. “Many of them are new faces and new names.”

Cloud said he thinks the calls to reduce police spending don’t account for local

residents about their experiences.

“There were multiple people who said that they had complained and that nobody cared,” she recalled.

The city council put out a statement a week after the June 8 meeting promising an “open and honest discussion” as leaders seek the “right solutions for our police department.”

“The City Council will not hesitate to use its authority to identify and change policies that contribute to oppression and injustice,” the council wrote, stressing that the elected officials will “work to examine our own biases and those of our police department head on.”

“To those calling for us to take a

The movement has even made its way to the Statehouse. Last week, three Progressive lawmakers urged their colleagues to divert at least 20 percent of Vermont State Police spending to other community services, citing similar movements in Minneapolis and New York City.

“We have an opportunity to strategically align our resources with services that are better able to meet the needs of our communities and keep all Vermonters safe,” Reps. Diana González (P-Winooski), Selene Colburn (P-Burlington) and Brian Cina (P/D-Burlington) wrote in an open letter published last week.

The Vermont State Police budget represents a sliver of Vermont’s multibilliondollar budget. Trimming 20 percent of the $64 million in state support proposed for fiscal year 2021 would save roughly $12.8 million. The Progressive lawmakers say that money would be better spent elsewhere, on a series of investments in social services and support for communities of color.

If the legislature cuts 20 percent from the Vermont State Police budget, “someone would have to choose what we’re not going to do,” Public Safety Commissioner Michael Schirling, a former Burlington police chief, told Seven Days last week.

“Do we not cover certain communities?

Do we not do traffic enforcement? I can’t imagine Vermonters would be very happy with a free-for-all on our highways,” he said.

The cut would be a tough sell for legislators such as Rep. Carl Demrow (D-Corinth), whose district includes six

rural towns in Orange County that do not have police departments of their own and instead contract with either state police or county sheriffs to patrol their roads.

“We have issues with crime in these towns, and we need policing,” Demrow said. “We need police to be there when we call.”

Lawmakers are currently working on a bridge budget that would level-fund most state departments and buy the legislature time to understand the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The Progressives want lawmakers to consider their request as they work to build the full budget over the summer.

They’re unlikely to get much traction; top lawmakers are skeptical that the nationwide movement should be applied to a small state such as Vermont, and Republican Gov. Scott has said he does not support cutting the state police budget.

Instead, Scott said he wants to focus on reforming and modernizing law enforcement, two ideas that have been given new life by Floyd’s death. One legislative proposal in particular — S.219 — combines several nonfinancial reforms into a single sweeping measure. It would limit officers’ use of deadly force to instances when it’s a last resort. (The current standard allows shootings if a “reasonable” person would have done the same.) The bill would also compel agencies to report race data, ban chokeholds and more.

Scott voiced support for some of the proposals last week, writing on Twitter that Vermonters cannot continue to treat racist incidents “like uncomfortable and rare events.”

But activists, including Hughes of the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance, argue that “spontaneous, knee-jerk” reforms will do little more than make white legislators feel like they have accomplished something.

“It is now abundantly clear,” wrote American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont executive director James Lyall in testimony submitted to lawmakers last week, “that if we hope to address police abuse and advance racial justice in Vermont, the role of law enforcement must be smaller, more circumscribed, and less funded with taxpayer dollars.”

CHURCH STREET BEAT

Many storefront windows on Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace now feature Black Lives Matter signs. Some, such as the one at Global Pathways Jewelry, are displayed unobtrusively alongside notices about mask use and store hours. Others, including one at Outdoor Gear Exchange, CUT THE POLICE SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

» P.32 31

are big and bold, occupying nearly an entire window. BLM signs run the length of Urban Outfitters’ glass façade.

When Seven Days canvassed Church Street business owners and managers last Friday afternoon asking for thoughts about calls to trim police budgets, many declined to speak. One shop owner feared making people unhappy no matter what he said. Another said he didn’t want to upset the police. Many others said they simply didn’t know enough to comment.

Burlington police maintain a regular presence on the marketplace. Foot patrols are routine along the pedestrian mall — and, at least for some, not entirely unwelcome. Last Friday afternoon, two outdoor diners leapt from their table outside Sweetwaters American Bistro to nab selfies with two officers, who obliged.

Erin Brennan, manager at Jess Boutique and its sister store Expressions, said she’s interested in learning more about the movement to reduce police funding. She’s called the police to respond to her stores a number of times in the last decade.

But she has also seen how civilian social workers can sometimes de-escalate situations better than armed officers.

“When they come in to intervene, it’s so much better than someone coming in not knowing the situation or the person involved,” Brennan said.

A few blocks up the street, Dominic Metcalfe, owner of the Vermont Distillers and Smugglers’ Notch Distillery tasting room, was also keeping an open mind.

Metcalfe has never called the police about a problem at his store, but he noted that one of his former female managers had experienced several incidents of harassment that required police intervention.

“We’ve got pepper spray,” said Metcalfe, nodding to a nearby counter. But he also stressed that shopkeepers “definitely need a police patrol on Church Street for us to feel comfortable.”

Still, “a reduction of 30 percent wouldn’t mean there aren’t cops on the street,” he said. If redistributing funds to other social services might ease the city’s reliance on police, he continued, then that is a “general idea I can get behind.”

‘WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?’

The calls to cut the Burlington police budget quickly put departmental brass and the officers’ union on the defensive.

Interim Police Chief Jennifer Morrison said immediate cuts to the number of cops patrolling would “be very dangerous for the citizens of Burlington.”

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JAMES BUCK

Cut the Police « P.31

A storefront on Church Street

“A 30 percent reduction in our uniformed police officers would mean basically jettisoning every bit of community policing that we’ve been doing in the last 20 years,” she said.

Burlington’s police budget can fund up to 105 sworn officers; the department currently has 93. The mayor originally proposed carrying those 12 vacancies until January, when the city would send four recruits to the Vermont Police Academy — as long as the coronavirus doesn’t torpedo the winter training session. The city would leave the remaining eight spots open.

But as part of the cuts he announced Monday, Weinberger proposed leaving all 12 spots vacant. He also proposed moving certain police responsibilities, such as parking enforcement, to other city departments. A chunk of the $1.1 million would likely go to services such as the Howard Center’s Street Outreach Team, which dispatches social workers to calls involving people experiencing a mental health crisis or substance use issues.

The proposed changes aren’t necessarily permanent, however. Weinberger said an outside group would study whether the 93-officer roster is sufficient. The report would be due by March 2021.

Morrison, who had not yet seen the mayor’s proposal when speaking to Seven Days last week, said social services would need to be bolstered before cops are cut from the picture. Until then, “the minute a situation turns dangerous, who are they going to call? It’s going to be police,” she said.

Morrison said both department leadership and members of the Burlington Police Officers’ Association are open to the conversation, but a recent statement penned by the union suggested otherwise.

The letter attacked the proposals to cut the budget as “radical and dangerous” and charged that city councilors were

only supporting the demands to make “catchy headlines.” The union released a second, toned-down message late last week that pledged to work with the police commission on reform. But the damage was already done.

“I don’t know how you read those letters and see an openness to change,” Burlington City Council President Max Tracy (P-Ward 2) said. He added: “Clearly, that letter is coming from a place of fear.

They’re not used to having their power challenged like this, really, ever.”

Union representatives did not respond to an interview request from Seven Days.

Weinberger met with members of the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance last week to discuss their demands. At a press conference on Monday, alliance members said the mayor never followed up as promised before presenting his budget publicly.

“He lied to us,” Mayumi Cornell said.

“He basically sat down at the table, gave a whole 25-minute spiel about how, ‘Yeah, we have to change, this has to change, blah blah blah blah blah,’ and it was all just a bunch of hot air. He’s speaking with a forked tongue.”

Weinberger said Tuesday that he plans to meet with alliance members in the coming days. Spokesperson Olivia LaVecchia said Monday that the mayor was “concerned” by the group’s accusation that he didn’t negotiate in good faith.

Tracy and some of his Progressive colleagues have said they won’t support a budget unless it reflects the activists’ demands. Progressive councilors will have just one meeting in June to pass their resolution and only six votes on the 12-member council. As long as all the Progs are aligned, that’s enough to shoot down the mayor’s budget — but one vote short of forcing deeper cuts in spending on police.

It’s unclear where the five Democratic

councilors will fall on the issue; most did not return interview requests about the mayor’s budget cuts. Councilor Franklin Paulino (D-North District) said that he agrees that Weinberger’s proposal “isn’t aggressive enough,” but he’s skeptical that the activists’ demands would have the desired effect.

“People feel that race is an issue and that certain crimes are investigated a certain way, but I’m not sure that if we reduce the number that will change,” Paulino said Tuesday.

Even if the Progressives could secure enough votes, they also recognize that laying off some 20 officers would invite a messy and public fight with the union.

With that in mind, the Progs have considered that changes may need to be phased in over time. Councilors Hanson and Zoraya Hightower (P-Ward 1) both want fewer police officers but would prefer to see the goal accomplished through attrition rather than mass layoffs.

Hightower said she doesn’t feel obligated to advocate for radical, immediate change.

“My role as a person of color on the board is to educate other councilors,” she said, “and show that communities of color have been suffering and that we need to take bold action.”

Pine said the city needs to envision an entirely new system of public safety, but that can’t happen before the July 1 budget deadline.

“A sense of urgency is critical and it’s called for, but yet we also need to remember that we didn’t just get here recently; this didn’t just happen,” Pine said of systemic racism.

“The culture [of policing] needs to be fully reworked, rethought and redone,” he continued. “And we’re going to be looking at a new police chief a year from now … but before we do that, I think we need, as a community, to have a really meaningful dialogue.”

Activists like Nash, with the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance, believe the conversation can’t wait. America is in the midst of a “once in a generation, if not a lifetime” moment to address issues of race and policing, he said. The University of Vermont senior said people he has known for years have finally become vocal about racial injustice. The question now is whether that momentum can be sustained.

“I find myself asking, ‘What took you so long?’ And secondly, ‘Is your outrage going to begin and end with that Black Lives Matter post?’” Nash said. “For a lot of people, that will be the case, and it can’t.

“It can’t just begin and end with one protest,” he added. “It’s got to go a lot deeper than that.” m Contact: courtney@sevendaysvt.com

Burlington Resource and Recovery Center (RRC) 802.755.7239

Burlington is Getting Back to Business Safely with the Making Space Initiative

Summertime in Burlington is special. When you’re ready, come visit our retailers and restaurants, park for free, and enjoy dining and shopping inside or outside.

WE’RE OPEN

Businesses: apply to expand outside – options for dining, retail and grab & go pickup zones. Permit fees are waived.

Open Streets: select streets will be closed on weekends

to cars and open to the public and businesses for outdoor dining and shopping.

FREE parking in City-owned garages: all day free Sunday, 2 hours free Monday to Saturday at Lakeview & College Street garages.

FREE 15-minute parking: at grab & go pickup zones.

Public health is our top priority: masks, social

distancing, sanitizing, and staying home when you’re sick are as important as ever!

For more information about the Making Space Initiative, please visit burlingtonvt.gov/MakingSpace or call 802.755.7239.

To see more parking options in Burlington, please visit parkburlington.com/downtown-parking/parking-map.

The RRC is here to help in response to COVID-19 Volunteer services

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

recovery@burlingtonvt.gov Untitled-2 1

Waxaan xalkaan u joognaa inaan caawinno COVID-19

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

बर ्लि ङ्ट न, कोभि ड-१९ वि र ुद ्धको सहयोगको लागि हाम ी यहा ँ छौ ।ँ COVID-19 health guidance

802.755.7239

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

burlingtonvt.gov/resources SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

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6/16/20 11:11 AM

High Stakes

The coronavirus pandemic weighs heavily on chronically ill Vermonters B Y M ARG A RET G RAYSON

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SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

BEN DEFLORIO

S

ally Roberts is no stranger to being afraid for her children. Along with her daughter, Ella, 15, and son, Caleb, 14, Roberts has been on a journey toward the proper diagnosis of their health issues for years. Ella is what her mom calls “a walking jellyfish,” with joints that dislocate easily and cause daily pain. Caleb has pain in his legs caused by excess fluid in his spine and misfiring nerves. Roberts has near-constant migraines. “I’m an eight out of 10 in pain on my best day, all day long,” she said.

Roberts and her kids are united by a diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a rare connective tissue disorder that affects primarily skin, joints and blood vessel walls. EDS often comes with a host of associated conditions, and Roberts and her kids all have unique symptoms, some of which doctors don’t fully understand. The Bethel-based family has spent a lot of time in doctors’ offices and seen many specialists. They drive to Boston and Providence regularly for appointments.

Through it all, Roberts and her husband, Ben, have fought to protect their children, to advocate for them and to be honest with them about their lives. They’ve built routines — regular exercise, physical therapy and homeschooling — that keep them relatively healthy. Ella, an animal lover, raises chickens and works at a therapeutic horseback riding facility. Caleb is an avid video gamer with a YouTube channel.

“I’ve never sugarcoated their situation [when talking] to them,” Roberts said. “We taught them to be resilient in their own reality, and it helps them process things. I think there’s a lot of kids out there that don’t know how to process grief.”

But the onset of the coronavirus pandemic has upset the daily balancing act of living with chronic illness — for the Roberts family and many others.

Seven Days spoke with eight Vermonters with chronic conditions, most of whom participate in a support group for people with EDS. They said that the coronavirus has impacted their lives in ways far beyond fear of contracting it. Restrictions related to the pandemic — including canceled medical appointments, the inability to see friends and loved ones, and increased dependence on caregivers — have resulted in emotional distress and physical pain. In many cases, their conditions aren’t visible to the public, so folks around them don’t even realize they’re vulnerable.

People who are considered high risk are often included in statements about coronavirus as a caveat, a small subset of the population to which the standard rules don’t apply.

In reality, the conditions that put a person at risk vary widely: heart, lung or liver disease; diabetes; asthma; cancer; and, in some cases, simply being older than 65.

Even as Vermont and the rest of the U.S. begin to reopen, high-risk people’s lives will remain affected by the pandemic for months, if not years.

“For us, I don’t know if we’ll ever go back to normal,” Roberts said. “Normal will find a new course.”

Though in some ways her family was well prepared to adapt to this new reality and process it emotionally, the experience has still been scary, Roberts said. She has an

HEALTH

From left: Ben, Caleb, Sally and Ella Roberts

immune condition that doctors believe would put her at high risk of a severe infection if she caught the coronavirus. And Ella’s previous bouts with pneumonia and the damage her lungs sustained would make fighting off an infection difficult.

People with certain types of EDS can easily dislocate joints, including by coughing — a common symptom of the coronavirus. They also tend to heal more slowly, so a person with EDS who doesn’t have a compromised immune system could still have a long, painful experience with the coronavirus.

When COVID-19 became widespread, Roberts said Ella “went from high risk to ‘I never want her to leave the house again.’” As Ella’s friends have begun to gather in small groups, she has to stay home or see them outside her house from yards Allie Cashel away.

“I am a very social person, so it was a big change for me having to stay at home,” Ella wrote in response to a Seven Days query. “Before the pandemic, I would be out of the house almost every day, sometimes even for 7-8 hours.”

Allie Cashel of Burlington is president and cofounder of Suffering the Silence, a nonprofit organization that uses art, media and storytelling to raise awareness about living with chronic illness and disability. Cashel aims to make conversations about chronic illness easier after experiencing doubt and shame for years around her own

symptoms stemming from Lyme disease and a few other tick-borne diseases.

She said that, despite frequent mention of people in high-risk categories during the pandemic, she doesn’t believe the overall public perception of illness has shifted much. Grouping those people separately from the general public, Cashel said, “is almost like permission to not have to think about it, unless you are one of those people.

“People don’t like to talk and think about getting older,” she continued.

“People don’t like to think about mortality. People don’t like to engage with the experience of disability.”

For some, the increased mention of high-risk people in the media has been distressing, given the context.

Early in the pandemic, Williston’s Judy Hettena Wright heard CNBC television host Jim Cramer discuss how doctors might assign ventilators if coronavirus patients overwhelmed the hospital system. In early April, national media began covering states’ existing and newly issued guidelines on rationing ventilators. According to the Vermont Department of Health’s July 2019 plan, hospitals should “assign limited ventilators to patients most likely to benefit if no other options are available.”

For Hettena Wright, who has EDS and associated conditions, as well as an undifferentiated autoimmune disorder and problems with her airway, hearing Cramer — a financial reporter — talk about this casually on TV

JAMES BUCK

was so upsetting that she wrote to CNBC about it. When she sees or hears arguments that a few vulnerable lives aren’t worth an economic shutdown, Hettena Wright feels furious and afraid.

Hettena Wright is an accountant and owns a business specializing in estate and trust planning and returns. She loves her work and her regular clients and said it’s an interesting use of her accounting and psychology degrees.

She makes sacrifices to keep doing it effectively — working through pain, keeping odd hours to get it all done — even as many of her hobbies have become impossible.

Currently, Hettena Wright and her employee are helping business owners understand the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program loans.

“It’s what keeps me going,” she said of her work. “This is how I feel I have value to give. This is a skill I have to offer the world … We may be vulnerable, but we all have value. [Many of ] my clients know I’m disabled. They still come to me.”

The pandemic has had a hugely detrimental effect on Hettena Wright’s health. Her office is more accessible and ergonomic than her home, but she hasn’t been working there since early March. She went without treatment for lymphedema, which causes swelling, for more than two months. She injured her knee and has had difficulty going to physical therapy. Even though restrictions on medical appointments have been lifted, she’s worried about going because many offices don’t allow a caregiver to accompany patients. Hettena Wright, who’s vulnerable to temperature changes due to her condition and generally unstable on her feet, feels nervous going without her husband. And wearing a face mask causes her to deoxygenate.

“I expected things to get better [when restrictions lifted], and then encountered a whole new obstacle when I discovered that wearing the masks is causing debilitating migraines,” she said.

One of the hardest parts for Hettena Wright, though, has been not seeing her son. The two are close and share a love of science fiction, but he works in a grocery store and is terrified of getting her sick.

“As long as he’s working in the public, I probably won’t see him,” Hettena Wright said.

Allie Ginsbury, a social worker who lives in Essex Junction, was diagnosed with EDS in September and has been meeting specialists and planning treatments. She’s still adapting to life with the condition. At work a few days ago, she dislocated her toe, and then realized she could put it back in place by herself.

Before the pandemic, Ginsbury had been in physical therapy and had hoped to become able to walk without a cane. The pandemic has been a major setback.

“I’m ragingly independent,” Ginsbury said. “I don’t want to have to depend on anyone.” She doesn’t know how the coronavirus would affect her if she caught it, and weighing the risks is difficult.

“It’s so hard to figure out what’s realistic and what’s not,” Ginsbury said. “There’s no marker for it … All of my providers are just like, ‘Trust your gut.’”

For Ginsbury, that means she’s not going to visit her family or meet up with friends, even as people around her start to do so. Her reliance on a cane has made it nearly impossible to garden or walk her dog. She goes to the grocery store but is frustrated by how many people ignore the social-distancing signs.

And she, too, has seen social media users mock mask wearing, and even post about how the pandemic might “cull the herd.”

Allie Ginsbury

“That feels shitty, like my life isn’t worth as much as yours,” Ginsbury said. Those who advocate for the complete reopening of society, aware that vulnerable people will have to stay home, she said, are treating them like second-class citizens.

A few pandemic developments have actually made the lives of chronically ill people a little easier, such as curbside grocery pickup, telemedicine and Zoom work meetings — accommodations for which chronically ill and disabled people have advocated for years.

I WOULD GIVE ANYTHING FOR A HUG AT THIS POINT. A HUG AND TO DO MY OWN GROCERY SHOPPING. C AR A S AC H S

But there’s some concern that these practices will disappear as society reopens.

Roberts said only one grocery in Bethel is still offering curbside pickup.

To Cara Sachs, who lives in Winooski and runs a lifecoaching business for people with chronic illness, the pandemic has illustrated what’s called “the social model of disability.” It’s the idea that a person’s health isn’t what makes them disabled but rather a society that isn’t designed to accommodate their needs.

The pandemic, Sachs said, “is exposing a lot of gaps that I think we can learn from.” For example, she receives EBT funds, some of which are deposited to an account in her name. To use the money to order a grocery delivery, Sachs would have to go to an ATM, withdraw the cash, and then deposit it into her own bank account. She isn’t comfortable leaving her apartment, so she has a trusted friend do it.

But feeling dependent on others is hard, as is the isolation.

“It scares me,” Sachs said. “I really wonder, in some of the harder or more isolating moments: Is it ever going to be safe for me to go out there? I would give anything for a hug at this point. A hug and to do my own grocery shopping.”

If someone were to consider just the surface facts of her life, Sachs said, they might only see her illness and her vulnerability to the coronavirus. They might not see her profitable coaching business, her advocacy work and how many shares of sourdough starter she’s given away to strangers via Facebook. “They’re missing out on all kinds of shit,” Sachs said. “I want to change the world.”

Some members of the chronic illness community are also worried about the long-term impact of the coronavirus on otherwise healthy people. Leah Schulz, who lives in Williston and has a background in public health, has experienced chronic fatigue syndrome in addition to EDS and other conditions. Research has begun to show that lingering chronic fatigue syndrome can affect coronavirus patients long after they’re infected with the virus. In May, a neurologist told the Washington Post that “it’s quite possible some [coronavirus patients] will never get their health back.”

“If you are someone that has been through hardship, like stumbling through diagnosis and pain and the ability to regain your life, you catch empathy,” Schulz said. “That’s really an understanding of suffering and an understanding of hardship [that] comes with chronic illness … I don’t want other people to experience that. I just want this shouted from the rooftops, essentially: We can still do things to prevent that from happening!” m Contact: margaret@sevendaysvt.com SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

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VERMONTING BY PAMELA POLSTON

T

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SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

Taconic Mountains Ramble vista

HELLO, VERMONTING Even as Vermont opens up from the pandemic shutdown, Gov. Phil Scott still encourages residents to stay home as much as possible.

And so this summer is a good time to explore our home state. Its diminutive size makes a multitude of short trips accessible, whether for a few hours, an overnight or a longer getaway.

This series, running weekly through mid-October, presents curated excursions in every corner of Vermont, based on the experiences of Seven Days reporters. The idea is to patronize the state’s restaurants, retailers, attractions and outdoor adventures — after all, we want them to still be there when the pandemic is finally over.

Happy traveling, and stay safe.

Parks and Rest

PHOTOS: PAMELA POLSTON

his week our destination was the TACONIC MOUNTAINS RAMBLE, a newish state park in Hubbardton that’s just a hop from the oldish HUBBARDTON BATTLEFIELD. The journey would introduce us to intriguing characters, sandwiches, history and farm animals.

From Burlington, my road-trip gal pal and I headed down Route 7, navigating the commercial strip that is Shelburne Road and passing through the tidy village that shares its name. The rows of grapevines at SHELBURNE VINEYARD seemed to hint at the lush farmland further south. Driving through bucolic Addison County, its rich fields sloping toward Lake Champlain, was like taking a restorative nap.

We had decided to detour through Vergennes, thinking that “the smallest city in Vermont” would offer both food and shopping. As if on cue, Main Street’s storefronts, their windows dotted with Black Lives Matter posters, were just opening up as we arrived. The street was lined with welltended plants; the robust hostas in particular seemed bursting with civic pride.

We first visited SWEET CHARITY, a resale shop founded and managed by Women of Wisdom, a local philanthropic group. The ladies are certainly wise about conducting retail in the time of COVID-19. A small table just inside the front door holds hand sanitizer and a basket of thin disposable gloves — wearing them is de rigueur and allows customers to touch the merchandise. “So we don’t have to keep sanitizing everything,” explained a volunteer clerk named Peggy, gesturing around a shop filled with hundreds of donated items.

We did our part for charity by purchasing a vintage vase the color of butter and four small ramekins.

The next stop was clothing and gift shop LINDA’S APPAREL, where my companion zeroed in on wee truck-covered socks for a beloved 3-year-old.

In the next block, we were bummed to find that LU•LU — a handcrafted ice cream shop where we’d hoped to get a “second breakfast” — didn’t open until afternoon.

Nearby DAILY CHOCOLATE had curbside pickup only; it hadn’t occurred to us to order in advance. So we backtracked to 3 SQUARES CAFÉ for a couple of cold bevvies and a hefty brownie for the road.

We continued down Route 22A, intending to “hang a Louie,” as my friend says, at some point and head east to Route 30, where we would “hang a Richard.” But along the way we realized that we hadn’t gotten takeout and options might be slim on our rural route. Just then PRATT’S STORE appeared like the answer to a riddle.

This oasis in Bridport calls itself a one-stop shop, and that’s not much of an exaggeration. Packed with groceries, convenience items and prepared foods,

A day trip with a side of history: Vergennes and Hubbardton the family-owned Pratt’s has been serving passersby — and filling their gas tanks — for more than 50 years.

Inside, with face masks on, we marveled at a gargantuan box of watermelons, lingered indecisively at the salads cooler, then made our way to the deli in the back. And there the menu gave us pause, literally. There were more than a dozen specialty sandwiches, each with a colorful name, such as Aleena’s Sunny Day Surprise, Jersey Turnpike, Hot Postman and Yo! Adrian.

We asked the woman waiting on us — who turned out to be Aleena — the deal with the names. That lured store co-owner Corey Pratt from the kitchen.

He apparently loves answering the question, because, like a cheerful museum docent, he explained each and every sandwich: All are named for past or current employees, often referencing some quirk about them.

We ordered a Betty’s Bomb — turkey, bacon, avocado, Swiss and pesto on white bread — to share. We thanked Pratt for the sandwich provenance, paid at the register up front and hit the road again.

By the time we turned off Route 30 on MONUMENT HILL ROAD, the terrain was hillier and more forested. En route to the eponymous monument, we stopped to take pictures of a barn adorned with painted cutouts of Revolutionary War-era figures.

Sign for lu•lu ice cream

Décor on Main Street in Vergennes

ALSO RECOMMENDED IN THIS AREA Check websites for COVID-19 guidelines.

• BOMOSEEN STATE PARK 22 Cedar Mountain Rd., Fair Haven, vtstateparks.com.

• HALF MOON POND STATE PARK 1621 Black Pond Rd., Hubbardton, vtstateparks.com.

• STRONG HOUSE INN 94 W. Main St., Vergennes, 877-3337, stronghouseinn.com.

• VERGENNES-AREA PARKS vergennesdowntown.org/parks-trails.

• VERMONT MARBLE MUSEUM 52 Main St., Proctor, 800-427-1396, vermontmarblemuseum.org.

• WILSON CASTLE 2708 West St., Proctor, 773-3284, wilsoncastle.com.

A sign assured us that the battlefield of yore was but three miles away.

To our surprise, the area invited picnicking — tables dotted the lawn of the Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site. A couple other cars in the parking lot bore Vermont license plates. One group consisted of four senior citizens, all wearing face masks; another comprised two younger women and three children with the energy of torpedoes.

Before laying out our lunch, we investigated the monument and learned some American history.

The battle of Hubbardton took place on the morning of July 7, 1777, the only Revolutionary War battle fought in what would become, 14 years later, the state of Vermont. Those enthralled with such facts might know that the battle is considered “one of the most successful rear-guard

actions in American history,” according to a website for the state’s historic sites.

Although it was a “tactical victory” for the British — and casualties were high on both sides — the battle was considered a strategic victory for our guys because, basically, they showed hella resistance.

The Hubbardton Battlefield also represents one of the first efforts in this country to establish and preserve a Revolutionary War site as a historic artifact. Accordingly, its monument, a marble obelisk erected in 1859, was one of the first such commemorations of that war in the U.S. Though no scholars of combat, we did admire the economy of documentation etched into one side of the monument: “COL. WARNER COMMANDED. COL. FRANCIS WAS KILLED. COL. HALL WAS CAPTURED. The Green Mountain Boys Fought Bravely.”

While wrangling our Betty’s Bomb, we eavesdropped on the party with the kids.

Barn in Hubbardton

MINGLING WITH THESE LONG-NECKED, CURIOUS CAMELIDS

Hubbardton Battlefield Monument

Wright Choice Alpacas farm

MADE US FORGET, FOR THE MOMENT, THE TROUBLES OF OUR HUMAN HERD. One of the women was quizzing them about American wartime history; a small boy was very curious about swords. When the children galloped off to play, we had our own questions for her about the site, as well as the Taconic Mountains Ramble.

The woman, who lived nearby, warned us about the park’s “yellow trail,” which would lead us up the sheer rock face of MOUNT ZION. Take the blue trail, she advised.

As it happened, a small shelter at the entrance of the park was out of maps, and none of the worn paths from the parking area was marked in blue or yellow. All of them descended abruptly — the park’s terrain could be described as “hill and dale.” We decided to wing it and headed down a steep path that appeared to lead to the so-called Japanese garden.

Japanese Garden, Taconic Mountains Ramble

The Ramble became a state park in 2016, a gift from the estate of landowners Carson “Kit” Davidson and his wife, Mickie. The New York City couple — a documentary filmmaker and children’s book author, respectively — ultimately purchased more than 400 acres and devotedly tended the property for 46 years. Davidson blazed trails, preserved meadows and created said Japaneseinspired area at the foot of Mount Zion.

Aside from a porta-potty in the parking lot, the park has no facilities and is “carry in, carry out.”

As we descended the hill we could hear bullfrogs in the garden’s small pond, their belches echoing off a massive boulder.

Settling into a couple of Adirondack chairs, we sunned ourselves like lizards, greeting other visitors with mask-obscured smiles.

A young couple braved the vertical ladder on an adjacent rock face and disappeared onto … the yellow path? The place feels both Zen-like and agrestal.

After reaching peak warmth in the afternoon sun, we trudged back up the hill to the car and headed to a cuteness adventure at WRIGHT CHOICE ALPACAS. In fact, owner Deb Bahre’s business card declares, “Happiness is a cute alpaca.”

And it’s true: Mingling with these longnecked, curious camelids made us forget, for the moment, the troubles of our human herd. We peppered Bahre with questions, which she answered with enthusiasm. Deeply knowledgeable about animal husbandry, Bahre clearly has a soft spot for cuddly creatures — she used to breed prize-winning rabbits.

Though it’s not evident from the road, Wright Choice farm also has a small gift shop that’s open to properly masked and sanitized visitors. Bahre sells skeins of soft wool from her animals, along with knitted and woven items. The walls are lined with ribbons from her wins at previous competitions — none of which are happening this year. Little toy alpacas populate her display tables. My friend, an avid knitter, bought several skeins named for the animals that provided the wool.

By this point in the day, both of us were jonesing for lu•lu’s, so we hightailed it back to Vergennes. She got green tea ice cream; I indulged in two scoops: coffee and maple creemee. We devoured our treats at a picnic table on the town green, then got in the car and headed north. At 5 p.m. on the dot, we reached Shelburne Road. The very existence of traffic seemed a world away from whence we’d come. m Contact: pamela@sevendaysvt.com

Find more information on Vermont day trips and adventures from the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing at vermontvacation.com/staytripper.

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

37

food+drink

Picnic Table for Two Outdoor dining in Vermont: pizza, oysters and elbow room

T

he season for dining outside in the Green Mountain State is short, lovely and popular in normal times. During a pandemic, al fresco dining is especially desirable — even mandatory in some locations. Here are two outdoor eating excursions to try.

JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

B Y S A LLY POL L AK

Randy George making pizza at Red Hen Baking

Red Hen Baking A series of signs leads people approaching from the west to the recently launched Friday evening pizza at Red Hen Baking in Middlesex.

A set of pink hearts on black posts rises from a field near the bakery-café. The word “HUG,” carved in wood and taller than a person, stands as a sculptural piece on the perimeter of the field. And on Route 2, in front of the blue sign that welcomes people to Middlesex, is a new one: Artist Dennis French’s rendering, in pink and red, states: #ICAN’TBREATHE. He also made the hearts in the field.

“The artistic side of our mind is where we’re going to save ourselves,” said Russ Bennett, a designer/ builder/ sculptor and co-owner of the Camp Meade property, where the bakery, an art gallery and other businesses are located. “[French’s] work has a nice feel to it; it’s not too weighty.”

Signs about congregating safely in a pandemic are posted by the outdoor oven, built by stone artist Thea Alvin behind Red Hen. One of them reads, in black block letters: “Your MASK is your admission ticket to the green.”

The green is a 1.4-acre expanse that’s transformed on Friday evenings, from 4 to 8 p.m., into an al fresco pizza place. Randy George, who co-owns Red Hen with his wife, Eliza Cain, bakes wood-fired pizzas with chef Rob Booz. The couple’s teenage daughters take orders and payment at a table by the outdoor kitchen.

In addition to pizza, the menu includes salad made with local greens, as well as housemade ice cream sandwiches. Lost

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SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

JAMES BUCK

961 Route 2, Middlesex, 223-5200, redhenbaking.com

Grilled oysters and Kasekrainer sausage at Dedalus Wine Shop, Market & Wine Bar

Nation Brewing of Morrisville serves beer at an outdoor bar.

“Part of our mission at Camp Meade is to help provide the tools for community,” said Bennett, who owns the property with Alan Newman (a founder of Magic Hat Brewing) and Middlesex resident Mike Pelchar. “We want to make the green space be like the town park.”

Creating community is a tricky proposition during a pandemic, when public

health officials recommend that people maintain a suitable distance from each other and refrain from gathering in crowds. Bennett’s experience in creating community includes making festival spaces for Phish shows, such as Lemonwheel, the August 1998 event that drew about 60,000 people to Limestone, Maine.

These days, providing a place for people to gather calls on both “science and art,” according to Bennett. It involves “keeping

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people together in safe family groups and apart physically,” he wrote in an email. A key element is for people to be safe and feel safe, he stressed.

The night we ate pizza at Camp Meade, I counted 15 paces between our table and the closest one — a good 20 to 22 feet. The grass is marked with circles 10 feet in diameter where families can eat together. The grounds offer a play structure for kids and other sculptural elements.

The impulse, before and after eating, is to explore the green. Visitors can check out Bennett’s tall yellow pencil sculpture and the big stone chimney, a vestige of the Civilian Conservation Corps barracks from the 1930s. Diners can head to the edge of the property and its steep drop-off to the Winooski River, or walk to the tree tagged with a knitted banner around its trunk that reads: “Karma is not a rumor.”

“I want to thank them,” Bennett said of the anonymous guerrilla artists. “That’s exactly the kind of energy we want to have show up.”

At Camp Meade, the energy is easygoing and welcoming, but Bennett said he doesn’t want the place to become “too enticing.”

(Last Friday, the third pizza night, he planned to have security personnel on-site to help ensure people’s safety.)

“The thing we’re most concerned about is doing the right thing for the community,” George said.

Pizza and beer is often the right thing, and the pies that emerge from Camp Meade’s oven are blistery and flavorful, characterized by a light, springy crust.

The dough, made with a natural levain and a little yeast, is a modified version of Cyrus Pringle bread dough, George said.

That’s one of the signature loaves made at the bakery, which George and Cain founded 21 years ago in Duxbury. The couple moved Red Hen to Camp Meade in the fall of 2007 and added a café. It offers an array of baked goods along with soups, salads, sandwiches, beer, wine and local cheeses.

The café is currently closed for in-house dining, but Red Hen built a window for

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takeout service on its east-facing wall and added online ordering.

The pandemic “has prompted us to do things that we never thought we would do but had talked about,” George said, referring to website and window service.

By the first week in July, Red Hen will also offer pizza nights on Saturday and Sunday in order to accommodate more people safely.

“We can’t be a victim of our own success,” George explained. “The way to deal with that is to add other days.”

The service method is simple, pleasant and contact-free — though someone had their gloved hands on the dozen grilled oysters that drew me to Dedalus. Shucking is a high-contact activity. (Yindra said he washes his hands about 30 times over an eight-hour shift.)

The oysters are cooked on a wood-fired grill, which the chef said is standard in the mid-Atlantic coastal region and the South.

“The temperature and texture change is what it’s all about,” said Yindra, who grew up in Lewes, Del. “It’s a little twist of where I’m from.”

Dedalus Wine Shop, The grilling cuts the slime and adds a Market & Wine Bar smoky tinge; it was an intriguing rookie 388 Pine St., Burlington, 865-2638, experience for a raw-oyster devotee, and dedaluswine.com worth repeating.

Zach Yindra started his job as executive Yindra serves the oysters with bloodchef at Dedalus in mid-March, just as Gov. orange hot sauce, made by sautéeing jalaPhil Scott closed restaurants to help stem peños and onions, adding blood-orange the spread of the coronavirus. purée, and straining the mixture. A little “Life is strange,” Yindra said. splash lends plenty of heat; we used some The 31-year-old chef had recently moved for dunking our grilled flatbread. to Winooski from southern Vermont, where The housemade sausage that Dedalus he was executive sous chef at the Equinox sells in its market is featured on the grillGolf Resort & Spa in and-go menu and was Manchester. At Dedaa highlight of our meal. lus, Yindra immediately The Kasekrainer is “pivoted” — the word stuffed with Shelburne du jour for restaurants Farms cheddar. The — and started making sausage snaps, and the more prepared foods cheese squirts when for Dedalus’ market, you bite it. Served with a which remained open smear of grain mustard as an essential service. and eaten on a slender In the wine and wooden skewer, it’s the cheese shop, a refrigperfect street food.

RU SS B E NN E T T erated case holds items Yindra’s experience from Yindra’s kitchen: housemade sau- includes cooking at Blue Hill at Stone Barns sages, pickled vegetables, caponata, Bolog- in Westchester County, N.Y., a preeminent nese sauce and more. and influential farm-to-table restaurant.

With the lifting of restrictions on restau- Working there was the “most memorable” rants, Dedalus has expanded its options. professional gig he’s had so far.

Last weekend, indoor dining at 25 percent “It was an unbelievable experience,” capacity opened at the Pine Street restau- said Yindra, who started as an intern at Blue rant. The patio is also open for diners. Hill and was invited to return as a cook. “I (Reservations are required for both.) was really, really lucky — they liked me.”

People seeking a more casual atmoIn his new, COVID-19-era position at sphere can order from Dedalus’ grill-and- Dedalus, Yindra called the constant handgo menu and eat at a picnic table on the washing, glasses fogging up due to his mask, front lawn. Diners get a street view to the the discomfort of face coverings in a hot west and a garden view to the north. kitchen and the challenge they impose On a recent evening, we walked up the on customer relations “trivial stuff.” His patio steps, found the menu posted on a primary concern is maintaining the safety chalkboard, and ordered a selection of of staff and guests, he said. small plates and two glasses of wine from Yindra plans to update the menu at least an employee at the host stand. We carried once a week, prioritizing seasonal and local our wine, served in disposable cups, to one ingredients. His interest in working with of the tables and sipped it while waiting for local producers includes purchasing flour our name to be called, signaling our food from Elmore Mountain Bread, which he was ready. uses for baking daily focaccia.

The meal was packed in to-go contain“I’m grateful to be working,” Yindra ers and set in paper shopping bags. (This said. “I’m really happy to be open, and I’m was convenient for taking home leftovers happy that people are in the shop.” m and the excellent buttermilk tart with rhubarb jam that we saved for dessert.)

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39

Pop Star

Curly Girl Pops brings wholesome treats direct to consumers B Y J O RD A N BA RRY

E

40

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

Arealles Ortiz

PHOTOS: JAMES BUCK

ating a popsicle on a hot summer day is a surefire way to relive childhood: think Rocket Pops that turn your tongue blue, or brain freeze from too much Good Humor.

Each icy treat means a race to lick the drips and catch the last bite on the wooden stick before it falls onto the grass — or your shirt. With Curly Girl Pops, Arealles Ortiz, 27, brings out her customers’ inner child while serving them healthy fruits and vegetables.

Unlike the mass-produced sugar bombs many of us ate growing up, Ortiz’s plantbased popsicles are chock-full of fresh organic ingredients, including apples, carrots, ginger, mango, raspberries, spinach, citrus, coconut milk and rhubarb.

They’re sweetened with maple syrup.

Sure, her Blue Magic temporarily dyes your tongue, but its color comes from organic spirulina.

Ortiz, who moved from New Jersey to Montpelier with her family when she was 14, developed an interest in wellness when she was a teenager. Despite her sweet tooth, she began to focus on what she put into her body and how it affected her daily life. That eventually led to studying nutrition and food sciences at the University of Vermont.

“I learned so much about nutrition and how important it is to consume healthy food — food that’s grown by local farmers and things you can grow yourself,” Ortiz told Seven Days by phone.

Meanwhile, she started making popsicles as a hobby, experimenting with ingredients and flavor combinations and sharing them with family and friends.

After completing her degree, Ortiz realized that a health-focused popsicle business would be a perfect way to share her passion while nourishing her customers.

“Being a woman of color, it felt like it was a good entryway into the health and

Curly Girl Pops

wellness world, too, which is very dominated by white people,” Ortiz commented.

“Being that representation for other Latinx and people of color really mattered to me, to provide an inspiration and to show that I can do something that I’m passionate about, regardless of the hurdles, which are always there for us.”

Curly Girl Pops has been a bright presence at farmers markets in central Vermont for four years. Ortiz has sold her rainbow of popsicle flavors under a matching umbrella at weekly markets in Montpelier, Worcester, Stowe and Waitsfield.

On hot days, customers would crowd around her cart to cool off with flavors such as Sweet Mango, Hulk, Superberries and Radical Razz.

Ortiz had planned to participate in even more markets this year, but the COVID-19 pandemic shifted her business operations. “Popsicles are kind of an impulse buy,” she said. “Since the markets are based on preorder sales, and you can’t linger around or eat on-site, it created a challenge for me.”

Rather than take limited vendor space away from farmers at the reconfigured markets — and risk customers’ popsicles melting on their way home — Ortiz decided to skip this season’s markets altogether. Instead, she added online ordering

to her website and offers delivery from her home base in Montpelier directly to customers.

Ortiz now delivers popsicles to the Montpelier, Middlesex and Waitsfield area on Saturday mornings and to Waterbury and Stowe on Sundays. They are also sold at the Roots Farm Market in Middlesex. For customers from towns outside her delivery zone, she offers a pickup at Richmond Community Kitchen on Friday mornings and is working with BBz Delivery Collective to make the popsicles available for delivery in Burlington soon.

“Anything cold on a hot day, you have to make it a point to get it and go right home,” Ortiz explained. “I wanted to leap over that and just get directly to the community.”

food+drink will help maintain the business moving forward.”

Curly Girl Pops did see an influx of social media followers in recent weeks, following the circulation of a list of Vermont businesses with black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) owners.

MY HOPE IS THAT, THROUGH THE SUMMER,

I’LL REALLY START TO SEE THE SUPPORT THAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT. AR E AL L E S O R TIZ

But so far, Ortiz said, the increased visibility hasn’t generated increased sales.

“I gained over 200 followers in the first two to three days,” she said. “But the sales to date haven’t been crazy busy at all.

My hope is that, through the summer, I’ll really start to see the support that everyone is talking about.”

That support is integral to Ortiz’s future

SERVING UP FOOD NEWS

BY J OR D AN BAR RY

BAKERS AGAINST RACISM BAKE SALE COMES TO VERMONT

Pastry chefs and bakers around Vermont are joining what might be the biggest and most impactful bake sale ever: Bakers Against Racism.

Organized by highprofile Washington, D.C., pastry chefs Paola Velez, Willa Pelini and Rob Rubba, BAKERS AGAINST RACISM is raising money for organizations working to end systemic and structural racism — via an international, old-fashioned (albeit virtual) bake sale on Saturday, June 20.

CAROLINE CORRENTE, who owns HAYMAKER BUN in Middlebury, noticed the movement as it started popping up on her social media news feed.

“I follow a lot of bakeries nationally, and when I saw the Bakers

Against Racism sale, it had absolutely taken off worldwide,” Corrente said.

“It seemed like a perfect opportunity to use my baking skills and fundraise at the same time.”

The organizers’ call to action — for bakers to use their talents and tools to fight racism — hit home with Corrente, who said her baking career has felt “insignificant these past few weeks, in light of what is happening around the country and the world right now.

“I’ve had a hard time going to work every day and baking and making pastries,” she continued.

“My husband and I own a bakery and a restaurant [the Arcadian], so we’ve been working tirelessly on trying to reopen. But it hasn’t felt right, right now.”

MEG DAWSON, the pastry chef at PHILO RIDGE FARM in Charlotte, echoed Corrente’s sentiment.

“People are really craving

that struggle with food access and to get land where “the Latinx community and people of color can come together to learn about growing food, enjoy popsicles and enjoy traditional foods of our heritage,” she said.

“Not to be harsh,” Ortiz said, “but seeing new followers and not new sales is kind of reflective of the state we’re in

right now. People are posting about stuff and not actually doing anything about it.

“There’s such a huge disparity of wealth between white and brown people — access to land, access to money and opportunities,” she continued. “The way to do something about it is to see the injustices that are happening to black and brown people around the world, and really do the work and support the people locally who are trying to add to Vermont’s value.”

If popsicles can conjure the joy and innocence of childhood and provide wholesome, nutritious ingredients, perhaps they can also help to deliver social change. m Contact: jbarry@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Curly Girl Pops, curlygirlpops.com, @curlygirlpops on Instagram. Order online for local delivery or weekly pickup at Richmond Community Kitchen.

ILLUSTRATION BY MOLLY HADWIN, COURTESY OF MEG DAWSON

SIDEdishes Anti-Racist Baking

business plans. She would like to expand the seasonal business to year-round offerings and share with Vermonters the Puerto Rican cuisine she learned to cook from her grandmother, including her favorite dish, pasteles.

Long-term, Ortiz’s aims to bring her nutritious treats to parts of the community

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAROLINE CORRENTE

That adaptation has been difficult, she said, especially figuring out how to reach longtime farmers market customers who don’t follow her on social media or subscribe to her email list. At the market, sales often happened in a way that doesn’t translate online: When someone bought a popsicle and wandered around the market enjoying it, others were inspired to walk over and buy one for themselves.

In addition to that challenge, Ortiz operates the business on her own. The process of making the popsicles, individually hand-wrapping them — in compostable parchment paper, delicately tied with hemp string — and delivering them takes the entire week. She has hired help for the farmers markets in years past, but with the new business model — and the extra health precautions during the pandemic — she produces everything by herself in her certified home kitchen.

“I love doing it, and I want to provide this service to the community,” Ortiz said.

“I’m just really looking for the support that

Chocolate chip cookies from Haymaker Bun; inset: illustration of Vermont Bakers Against Racism Bakers’ Box

a way to get involved,” Dawson said. “I think it’s really hard to feel useful right now. Baking is the one thing I know how to do, so to get involved and raise money is the very least I can do.”

Dawson organized a collective of eight bakers and producers in the Burlington area, who combined their efforts to sell one curated Bakers’ Box. The $50 box, for which preorders sold out in two days, includes more than a dozen treats. Dawson, HONEY ROAD pastry chef AMANDA WILDERMUTH, KING ARTHUR FLOUR baker LAURA HORNER-RICHARDSON, HEN OF THE WOOD’s LAURA SCHANTZ,

SAM LACROIX of MIRABELLES

BAKERY, NOMADIC KITCHEN’s

ALEXX SHUMAN, MISS WEINERZ

and SHY GUY GELATO all contributed. Coffee beans from VIVID COFFEE ROASTERS were an optional add-on, and Mirabelles donated all of the boxes and paper goods for the effort.

Proceeds from the Bakers’ Box will go to BLACK LIVES MATTER OF GREATER

BURLINGTON. Dawson is encouraging customers who didn’t get to order a box to support the organization directly through donations.

For those looking to purchase something from the Bakers Against Racism sale, she’s pointing customers to Corrente’s efforts, as well as Montpelier’s

BIRCHGROVE BAKING — which is selling cookies to benefit JUSTICE FOR ALL VERMONT.

“People know that the system is broken and that racism exists but have just been living their lives,” Dawson said. “At this point, it’s not OK anymore. Everybody can see the crack in the wall, and we want to push at it until it breaks. If everybody keeps pushing and doing what they can, we’ll get there.”

Corrente is still taking orders for her contribution to the bake sale: Customers can choose

from Haymaker’s legendary chocolate chip cookies, fluffernutter cookies, or pistachio and chocolate chunk cookies. Preorders launched on Saturday, and as of Monday morning, Corrente had already raised $400, which she will split equally between Black Lives Matter and the Equal Justice Initiative.

“I think that we can hit at least $1,000,” Corrente said. She is hoping to have extras available on Saturday for customers who didn’t preorder; Haymaker will be open as usual for curbside pickup.

“A good, old-fashioned bake sale is such an accessible thing, at least for my customer base,” she said. “It’s a really easy and delicious and hopefully effective way to raise money quickly.

Maybe you were thinking about donating to an organization — it’s been in the back of your mind or on your to-do list. But this is really simple. Just buy some cookies.” m

CONNECT Follow us for the latest food gossip! On Twitter: Sally Pollak: @vtpollak. On Instagram: Seven Days: @7deatsvt; Jordan Barry: @jordankbarry.

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

41

COURTESY OF ARIELLE THOMAS

music+nightlife Higher Learning

Despite data indicating that the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of abating, the reopening of society continues — including the return of live music events in Vermont. Just last week, South Burlington club Higher Ground announced a new drive-in event series at the Champlain Valley Exposition that would allow people to consume entertainment from the safety of their cars, with proceeds directed to the Vermont Arts Council. The series’ first concert was scheduled to be KAT WRIGHT on Friday, June 19 — with a $99 per carload price tag.

However, shortly after announcing the show last Thursday, Wright posted a message on social media explaining that the concert would be moved to Sunday, June 21. That’s because June 19 is Juneteenth, the 155-year-old nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States.

“This year, of all years, let’s do better about acknowledging & embracing Juneteenth, to honor and celebrate Black Americans,” Wright wrote in the message, which Higher Ground reposted on its social media feeds. The venue later published its own statement.

In a subsequent phone call, Wright added, “It’s not for me to decide what Juneteenth is to anyone.”

Of course, online outrage nonetheless ensued, with social media users lambasting both Wright and Higher Ground for what was perceived as, at best, a tone-deaf fail — and, at worst, an overtly racist attack. Critics were particularly incensed that Higher Ground booked a white soul band to play the show, rather than local black artists.

“We were moving fast,” explained Higher Ground co-owner ALEX CROTHERS by phone. “I knew Kat’s band was available. The bands that we knew and had direct contact with that could step up and play a show like this — it’s a high ticket price [and] a benefit concert — that limits the types of bands that we would [ask] first to come play.”

Additionally, as a precaution against spreading the coronavirus, only one band could be booked. A mini festival would not have been feasible, according to Crothers.

Clearly, there’s a lot to unpack: What should a Juneteenth musical celebration really look like? Who should be in charge of it? Should there even be a Juneteenth 42

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

Kat Wright

S UNDbites News and views on the local music + nightlife scene

BY JORD AN AD A M S Dwight & Nicole

concert? Would it be appropriate, given what the day represents?

First, it’s important to note that observation and awareness of Juneteenth seems to be on the rise among non-black people but is in no way ubiquitous. Just this past weekend, the New York Times published a story titled “So You Want to Learn About Juneteenth?” with a simpler and more revealing SEO headline of “What Is Juneteenth?”

The day might be on the minds of nonblack people now more than ever because of the ongoing protests regarding racial justice, police divestment and systemic racism. Or perhaps it’s because President DONALD TRUMP recently drew massive scorn for scheduling a huge campaign rally on Juneteenth in Tulsa, Okla. — the site of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, which is largely considered the single worst instance of racial violence in U.S. history. (Trump has since pushed the rally back by a day.)

“I can’t stress enough that it was a mistake and not something I would have done on purpose,” Wright told Seven Days of scheduling the show for June 19. In the rush to fit the accelerated timeline (Higher Ground needed a response from her within a day), not to mention the daze of sheer joy she felt at getting to perform again after months of forced hiatus, Wright explained that the observance of Juneteenth flew over her head. She added that she’d “never forget it again.”

Some have asked Wright why she didn’t hold the date and turn it into an official Juneteenth celebration and invite “people of color to join me onstage.”

GOT MUSIC NEWS? JORDAN@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

“I don’t need to be the white savior person,” she told Seven Days, noting that she now wishes she could produce a concert that showcased not her band but artists of color.

Several members of the local music community reached out to me to express their displeasure at the show, floating names of Vermont-based black artists that they thought should have been featured. So I reached out to some of those musicians for their take on the situation, keeping in mind that no one person can or should be asked to speak for an entire group of people.

“Yeah, I don’t see why [the show] needed to be rescheduled,” wrote DJ and PRINCE tribute artist CRAIG MITCHELL in an email. “That is a bit much, IMO! Franklin Graham or 45 [Trump] on 6.19, HELL NAH! Kat Wright? Umm, why not?”

Because the show was not branded as a Juneteenth celebration, Mitchell wasn’t sure whether or not changing the date was even the right move.

“I think I might have pushed back a little harder on that one,” he said later by phone. “But at the same time, in this political climate, can you?”

“It seems like many white artists are trying to take antiracist action the best way they know how,” observed BOBBY HACKNEY JR. of ROUGH FRANCIS, another band suggested for the hypothetical Juneteenth concert bill, in an email.

(Hackney also works for Higher Ground.) “It seems apparent that they feel performing while white on Juneteenth (in 2020) is in poor taste,” he continued. “Good on them.”

NICOLE NELSON of blues outfit DWIGHT & NICOLE said that she has performed at “amazing, beautiful, tearful” Juneteenth celebrations in her hometown of New York City and thinks that changing the date of the show after the gaffe was a missed opportunity. (On Tuesday, Higher Ground announced that her band will play the Expo on July 4.)

“It would have been really, really great to call upon some of the [black] community and say, ‘What should we do here? What do you think we should do?’” she said by phone.

But should Higher Ground, whose owners are white, be the ones to stage a Juneteenth concert?

“It does not matter [who produces it],” Nelson said. “It matters who’s onstage.”

She continued, “It’s so important for the completely white organizations who

Clearly Organic.

are not racist to do these kinds of things, to start becoming aware.”

According to Crothers, proceeds from Sunday’s show will be donated to Black Lives Matter of Greater Burlington.

He added that his organization has started to have “important, long overdue conversation[s].”

“Awareness and education and listening are a big part of it,” Crothers said. “Music tends to be a pretty good unifier and a great place for new ideas and thoughts and communities to come together. That’s what we should focus on.”

Nelson said she has firsthand experience with more overt racism in Vermont than she had time or energy to fully explain. Still, she’s largely hopeful of how current activism is reshaping daily life. “[Artists] are the architects building the subtle bridges for the creation of the new world,” she said. “This is a time of building. Also, burning to the ground. But when something’s burning, immediately you need a replacement.”

What’s the takeaway from all this?

To me, it’s the importance of talking to people and not being afraid to hear something you don’t like. Honesty, empathy and critical thinking are the best tools for doing that, not outrage and cancel culture. How do you expect someone to learn if they’re constantly being knuckle-struck with a ruler?

We outlawed that kind of draconian punishment in schools, and I hope we soon move past it on social media.

Or, as Hackney put it: “Do I think a show should be canceled because it fell on June 19? No.” Then he added, “This was never an issue in the [past], but I’m glad it’s an issue now.”

What matters to you, matters to us.

Listening In

Crafted in America's heartland, Grainger's Deluxe Organic Vodka is made from 100% organic, non-GMO, gluten free corn, and is distilled 7 times to deliver a clean, smooth taste.

If I were a superhero, my superpower would be the ability to get songs stuck in other people’s heads. Here are five songs that have been stuck in my head this week. May they also get stuck in yours.

NAEEM, “Us” YEARS & YEARS, “King” MILLI VANILLI, “All or Nothing” DUA LIPA, “Levitating” TLC, “Creep”

P L E A S E E N J OY R E S P O N S I B LY. P R O D U C E D A N D B OT T L E D B Y G R A I N G E R ’ S D E L U X E . B O S TO N , M A . © 2 0 2 0 .

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REVIEW this S E V E N D AY S T I C K E T S . C O M

Various Artists, Quarancomp 2020 (WHAT DOTH LIFE, DIGITAL)

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Has interest in music made during the quarantine diminished? Are people burnt out on the novelty of being stuck in their houses with nothing to do but create? Though it may be a little bit late to the party, Windsor collective What Doth Life’s Quarancomp 2020 just arrived this month, and it’s worth checking out.

The 18-track collection has a bunch of the usual suspects associated with the Upper Valley label and musician’s co-op: Derek and the Demons, the Jobz, Carton, and the Pilgrims, to name a few. It also features some folks from the Upside Down, aka New Hampshire: punk group Chodus.

But the record is largely the work of the folks at the core of What Doth Life — Kiel Alarcon, Brendan Dangelo, Ryan Hebert and Tim Knapp — in various combinations under similarly varied monikers. As

Kimberley McKee, Groundskeeper (SELF-RELEASED, CD, DIGITAL)

I lived in a small town in West Virginia for about two years. During that time, I was fortunate to hear live folk, roots, bluegrass and traditional American music by the likes of Cabinet, the Steel Wheels and the Kind Thieves at the local music venue and hostel. So abundant were the acoustic strains in this former mining town that I was admittedly folk and bluegrassed out by the time I moved north. Adamant musician Kimberley McKee’s debut solo album Groundskeeper is nudging me back in the genres’ direction.

McKee is a member of the Montpelierarea contemporary string band Two Cents in the Till. In his review of the quartet’s 2018 album Greenland, writer Justin Boland praised McKee for her clean banjo

Alarcon writes in an email, “We’re all very incestuous down here.”

That’s likely why these selections fit so well together. The album runs the gamut of punk from acoustic to post, with an overall emphasis on heavy rock. But a few tracks dig into lo-fi indie, folk, alt ’80s and even the experimental abyss.

As the comp’s name suggests, most of the tracks were recorded during quarantine, but not exclusively. In fact, one of the best songs, “Business Minded” by Daggers and Crane, was written and tracked before the coronavirus upended life as we know it.

Daggers and Crane are actually the Pilgrims’ keyboardist Davis McGraw and collaborator Parker Crane. The song, which the Pilgrims have already performed live, is pure left-of-center ’80s magic. With its stabbing bass line, swishy drums, vox choir and sharply delivered lyrics, it’s like Echo & the Bunnymen teamed up with the dBs. Though technically a demo, the song sounds perfect the way it is.

Several songs take stock of the pandemic in a literal sense, such as McAsh’s “Oi (Dang)” and Steve Heim’s “Wash the Hands.” The former, a project of the four aforementioned What Doth Lifers, is a snarling punk banger; the latter a bite-size, back-porch acoustic ditty.

“Sandwich Exploration,” by Dangelo and Rebecca Michaels as RNB Designs, is a seven-and-a-half-minute slide into the unknown. It’s like a slow ride down an industrial conduit full of oscillating noise, metallic clangs, vibrating undercurrents and alien overtones.

Other standout tracks include “Boo Bah Bee,” a buzzing slow jam from Fonding Throng; Grand Mandibles’ “The Belly of the Beast,” which recalls the decadent sadness of the Magnetic Fields; and the Jobz’s meandering post-punk tune “19 Ninety Nineteen.”

Quarancomp 2020 is the perfect primer for anyone looking to absorb the eclectic sounds of What Doth Life in about an hour. And if the virus has its way, more Quarancomps may follow.

What Doth Life’s Quarancomp 2020 is available at whatdothlifevt.bandcamp.com.

playing and standout vocals, as well as her range as a songwriter.

Now McKee, a grant programs manager at the Vermont’s Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, takes center stage with 10 original songs about finding, making and keeping a home — a concept reflected in the album’s relief-print artwork by Andrew Brewer. McKee also interprets the American murder ballad “Little Sadie.”

Rural North Country imagery runs through Groundskeeper, putting a proper Green Mountain State stamp on McKee’s folk and bluegrass stylings.

My favorite cut, “Dance in Line,” provides a snapshot of social dance culture, as well as a fiery image of a young woman who, upon seeing her sweetheart enter the grange hall with another lass, punishes the planks with her dancing shoes.

In “Another’s Behalf,” McKee delivers an Americana “boy, bye” to a self-centered mansplainer via creative

wordplay: “My diagnosis: Self-righteous, -centered, -serving it up / Cold; gotta dig up out this hole / -y ghost of average man at most / My weakness everybody knows / And now I’m gonna take back ground.”

McKee’s voice and banjo work really shine on “Odds and Ends,” a sweet song about how the many paths available at the start of one’s life become fewer and more tangled over time.

Throughout the album, McKee’s clawhammer style leaves plenty of room for her all-star backing players, including Billy Corbett on mandolin, Doug Perkins on guitar, and Colin McCaffrey on bass, guitar, fiddle and viola. McCaffrey produced, recorded, mixed and mastered the album at the Greenroom in East Montpelier.

Groundskeeper is a pleasant, sometimes sad journey to home, documented through voice and strings. Fans of Molly Tuttle and Sarah Jarosz will likely find themselves tapping their boots along with McKee’s introspective acoustic tunes.

Groundskeeper is available at kimberleymckee.bandcamp.com.

GET YOUR MUSIC REVIEWED:

JORDAN ADAMS

KRISTEN RAVIN

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

CLASS PHOTOS + MORE INFO ONLINE SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSES

classes

CLASSES MAY BE CANCELED OR MOVED ONLINE DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS. PLEASE CHECK WITH ORGANIZERS IN ADVANCE.

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.

design/build TINY HOUSE ‘GARDENEER’: In class: tool type and use, materials, parts of a house, lumber list, cut list. In field: We will frame a floor, deck it, get a rafter pattern and put up two walls, framed for window and door. Forestry walk: cruising timber, dropping, limbing, chunking, splitting, stacking cord wood. Garden tour: tools, layout and utilities. Creating a “destination CSA” for progressive share cropping. vermonttinyhouses. com. Jun. 20-21. Cost: $250/ weekend; sliding scale; on-site camping avail.; preregistration req. Location: Bakersfield, Vermont. Info: 933-6103, vermonttinyhouses.com.

drumming DJEMBE & TAIKO: JOIN US!: Digital classes! (No classes on-site for now.) Taiko: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Djembe: Wednesday.

Kids and Parents: Tuesday and

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Wednesday. Private digital conga lessons by appointment. Let’s prepare for a future drum gathering outdoors! Schedule/register online.

Location: Taiko Space, 208 Flynn Ave., Suite 3G, Burlington. Info: 999-4255, burlingtontaiko.org.

kids VSC SUMMER YOUTH VIRTUAL ART CAMP: Art with Arista Alanis: Painting, Drawing & Sculpture.

Ages 6-14. To sign up, please email aalanis@vermontstudio center.org. Parents must pick up art supplies before July 7, coordinated with Arista. Students need reliable internet. Sessions are live through Google Meet. A free gmail account is required for access. Limited space available.

Jul. 9-10, 13-17, 9-11 a.m. Cost: $25/scholarships avail. Location: Vermont Studio Center, online.

Info: Arista Alanis, 535-1646, aalanis@vermontstudiocenter.org.

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 lesson package. Our 14th year. Personal small group and individual instruction from a native speaker. See our website for complete information or contact us for details. Location: Spanish in Waterbury Center, Waterbury Center. Info: 585-1025, spanishparavos@gmail.com, spanishwaterburycenter.com.

martial arts VERMONT BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU: Brazilian jiujitsu is a martial arts combat style based entirely on leverage and technique. Brazilian jiujitsu self-defense curriculum is taught to Navy SEALs, CIA, FBI, military police and special forces.

No training experience required.

Easy-to-learn techniques that could save your life! Classes for men, women and children.

Students will learn realistic bully-proofing and self-defense life skills to avoid becoming victims and help them feel safe and secure. Our sole purpose is to help empower people by giving them realistic martial arts training practices they can carry with them throughout life. IBJJF and CBJJ certified black belt sixthdegree instructor under Carlson 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: 598-2839, julio@bjjusa.com, vermontbjj.com.

massage ASIAN BODYWORK THERAPY PROGRAM: This program teaches two forms of massage: amma and shiatsu. We will explore oriental medicine theory and diagnosis, as well as the body’s meridian system, acupressure points, and yin-yang and five-element theory.

Additionally, Western anatomy and physiology are taught. VSAC nondegree grants are available.

FSMTB-approved program. Starts

Sep. 2020. Cost: $6,000/625hour program. Location: Elements of Healing, 21 Essex Way, Suite 109, Essex Jct. Info: Scott Moylan, 288-8160, scott@elementsofheal ing.net, elementsofhealing.net.

nature NATURE JOURNALING: Led by teaching artist Rachel Mirus, we will spend the morning surrounded by the beautiful Horsford Gardens while practicing sketching, nature writing and strategies for identifying plants and animals. June 27: flowers; July 25: pollinators; August 22: trees. Students should bring their favorite writing/drawing tools. Additional materials will be provided. Sat., Jun. 27, Jul. 25, Aug. 22, 10 a.m.-noon. Cost: $40/2-hour class. Location: Horsford Gardens and Nursery, 2111 Greenbush Rd., Charlotte.

Info: Rachel Mirus, 249-8838, rachel.marie.sargent@gmail. com, rachelsargentscybercabinet. works.

yoga EVOLUTION YOGA: Now offering live online and recorded classes.

Practice yoga with some of the most experienced teachers and therapeutic professionals in Burlington, from the comfort of your home. Sign up on our website

and receive a link to join a live class; a class recording will be sent after class. Pay as you go or support us by becoming an unlimited member. Join us outside this summer for Yoga on the Lake and Yoga in the Park. Registration is open for our 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training for Health and Wellness Professionals. Now offering flexible pricing based on your financial needs. Contact yoga@evolutionvt. com. Single class: $0-15. 10-class pass: $100. $55 student unlimited membership. Summer unlimited pass Jun.-Aug.: $195-275.

Scholarships avail. for all pricing options. Location: Evolution Yoga, 20 Kilburn St., Burlington. Info: 864-9642, evolutionvt.com.

LAUGHING RIVER YOGA: Increase confidence and decrease stress.

Enjoy inspirational teachings, intelligent alignment and focused workshops through daily livestream and on-demand yoga classes. Check out our virtual library and practice with us live at the Burlington Surf Club starting June 15. All bodies and abilities welcome. Daily classes, workshops, 200- & 300-hour yoga teacher training. Cost: $10/single class; $39 unlimited livestream; $49 unlimited livestream and on-demand classes; a portion of proceeds benefits the Vermont Foodbank. Location: Laughing River Yoga, Chace Mill, Suite 126, Burlington. Info: 343-8119, laughingriveryoga.com.

SEVEN DAYS JULY 17-24, 2020

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10/29/19 3:50 PM

MAKING MOVES? Tuesday, June 30, 6-8 p.m.

party!

ATTORNEYS Daniel N. Farnham, Esq. Jonathan M. Stebbins, Esq.

A free online workshop for first-time home buyers. Talk with experts and ask questions from home!

REAL ESTATE AGENT Erin Dupuis

MORTGAGE LOAN ORIGINATOR Kelly Deforge

Bauer Gravel Farnham, LLP Attorneys at Law

REGISTER TODAY: 46

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

sevendaysvt.com/houseparty

Humane

Society of Chittenden County

Tequila AGE/SEX: 12-year-old spayed female ARRIVAL DATE: May 15, 2020 REASON HERE: Her owner could no longer care for her.

SUMMARY: Don’t let the name fool you. This mellow senior gal is more about snuggling up for a nice nap than getting the party started. Tequila is looking for a somewhat quiet home where she can take it easy and enjoy her golden years. Potential adopters should be aware that Tequila needs to be on a special renal diet and will require more supportive care as she ages. However, Tequila is more than ready to be the purrrfect companion to her new family, and we hope you’ll “take a shot” on this sweet lady!

Visit hsccvt.org/cats for more info and to schedule a virtual meeting with an adoption counselor.

housing »

DID YOU KNOW? Those of us who are allergic to cats may have saliva to thank for our sniffles! Cat saliva contains an allergen that gets spread to the rest of their bodies when they groom themselves. When you pet a cat, these allergens then get on your hands and make it appear as though your allergic response is due to their fur. Among other steps you can take to reduce allergen exposure, washing your hands after petting a feline may be one of the simplest!

Sponsored by:

DOGS/CATS: Tequila lived with a cat and a dog in her previous home and may do well with others.

APARTMENTS, CONDOS & HOMES

on the road »

CARS, TRUCKS, MOTORCYCLES

pro services »

CHILDCARE, HEALTH/ WELLNESS, PAINTING

buy this stuff »

APPLIANCES, KID STUFF, ELECTRONICS, FURNITURE

music »

INSTRUCTION, CASTING, INSTRUMENTS FOR SALE

jobs »

NO SCAMS, ALL LOCAL, POSTINGS DAILY

NEW STUFF ONLINE EVERY DAY! PLACE YOUR ADS 24-7 AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM.

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

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CLASSIFIEDS

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on the road

housing

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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

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KEEN’S CROSSING IS NOW LEASING! 1-BR, $1,054/mo.; 2-BR, $1,266/mo.; 3-BR, $1,397/mo. Spacious interiors, fully applianced kitchen, fi tness center, heat & HW incl.

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PINECREST AT ESSEX 7 Joshua Way. Independent senior living, must be 55+ years. 2-BR, 1-BA avail.

8/1/20. $1,400/mo. incl. utils. & underground parking. NS/pets. rae@ fullcirclevt.com or 802-872-9197.

PINECREST AT ESSEX 9 Joshua Way, Essex Jct. Independent senior living for those 55+ years. 1-BR avail. Jul. 17, $1,240/mo. incl. utils. & parking garage. NS/ pets. 802-872-9197 or rae@fullcirclevt.com.

TAFT FARM SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY 10 Tyler Way, Williston, independent senior living. Newly remodeled 1-BR unit on 2nd floor avail., $1,185/mo. inc. utils. & cable. NS/pets.

Must be 55+ years of age. cintry@fullcirclevt. com or 802-879-3333.

TAFT FARM SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY 10 Tyler Way, Williston, independent senior living. Newly remodeled 2-BR unit on 2nd floor avail., $1,390/mo. incl. utils. & cable. NS/pets.

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(AAN CAN)

readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. Any home seeker who feels he or she has encountered discrimination should contact: HUD Office of Fair Housing 10 Causeway St., Boston, MA 02222-1092 (617) 565-5309 — OR — Vermont Human Rights Commission 14-16 Baldwin St. Montpelier, VT 05633-0633 1-800-416-2010 hrc@vermont.gov

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

display service ads: $25/$45 homeworks: $45 (40 words, photos, logo) fsbos: $45 (2 weeks, 30 words, photo) jobs: michelle@sevendaysvt.com, 865-1020 x21

OFFICE/ COMMERCIAL ART STUDIO SPACES, WINOOSKI Several shared art studio spaces opening up at Wishbone Collective. Move-in date negotiable (as soon as Jul. 1). Message w/ any questions or to schedule a showing. hello@ wishbonecollectivevt. com, 802-662-3050.

COMMERCIAL KITCHEN SPACE Avail. in Waitsfield, Vt. Fully avail. now; shared space avail. after adjoining restaurant reopens. Incl. much equipment. Contact anaxdan@gmail.com or 614-581-7575.

OFFICE/RETAIL SPACE AT MAIN STREET LANDING on Burlington’s waterfront. Beautiful, healthy, affordable spaces for your business. Visit mainstreetlanding.com & click on space avail.

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Homeshares 16t-robbihandyholmes052720.indd 1

5/22/20 2:28 PM

BURLINGTON

Share apartment with avid sports and music fan in his 50s. No rent in exchange for errands, occas. transportation & flexible evening help w/ meals, etc. Shared BA. No smoking.

ESSEX JUNCTION Professional in her 50s & son in his 20s who enjoy their gardens, painting & birding, seeking pet-friendly housemate. $500/mo. (all inc). Shared BA. No add’l pets.

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Calcoku

Using the enclosed math operations as a guide, fill the grid using the numbers 1 - 6 only once in each row and column.

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Sudoku

Complete the following puzzle by using the numbers 1-9 only once in each row, column and 3 x 3 box.

2 9 5 4 5 2

3

Difficulty - Medium

BY JOSH REYNOLDS

No. 641

SUDOKU

6 Difficulty: Hard

BY JOSH REYNOLDS

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: ★★

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: ★★★

Fill the grid using the numbers 1-6, only once in each row and column. The numbers in each heavily outlined “cage” must combine to produce the target number in the top corner, using the mathematical operation indicated. A onebox cage should be filled in with the target number in the top corner. A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not the same row or column.

6

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Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers one to nine. The same numbers cannot be repeated in a row or column.

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ANSWERS ON P.51 7 2 6 3 9 8 5 1 4 ★ = MODERATE ★★ = CHALLENGING ★★★ = HOO, BOY!

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VOWEL LANGUAGE ANSWERS ON P. 51

8 5 9 1 3 2 6 4

3 1 6 4 8 9 7 5

4 9 2 5 7 1 8 3

7 2 1 9 5 6 4 8

5 6 7 8 4 3 2 1

1 4 3 6 2 5 9 7

6 7 8 3 9 4 1 2

2 3 4 7 6 8 5 9

9 8 5 2 1 7 3 6

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

49

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Untitled-23 1

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION 4C1324-1 10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6111 On June 4, 2020, Michel Crete, Winooski, VT 05404 filed application number 4C1324-1 for a project generally described as modifying the previously approved project design to remove the underground parking structure and to reduce the number of onsite parking spaces from 59 spaces to 42 spaces. The project is located at 211-225 Main Street in Winooski, 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”

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No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before July 2, 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

Krista Lacroix 802-846-9551 Krista802RealEstate.com

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 State Coordinator as soon as possible, and by no later than July 2, 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).

Dated at Essex Junction, Vermont this 12th day of June, 2020.

By /s/ Aaron J. Brondyke,

State Coordinator, 111 West Street, Essex Junction, VT 05452 (802) 595-2735 aaron.brondyke@ vermont.gov

BURLINGTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD TUESDAY, JULY 7, 2020, 5:00 PM PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE REMOTE MEETING Zoom: https://us02web. zoom.us/j/8520094924 2?pwd=V1EzNnhqejNOY lJvNUpSbFVzQTBFQT09 Webinar ID: 852 0094 9242.

Password: 842557. Call in telephone: US: +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833.

1. 20-0792CA; 291 Appletree Point Rd (RL-W, Ward 4N) Gordon M. Maher Appeal of an administrative denial for an after-the-fact patio removal and replacement with deck on different footprint.

2. 20-0794SN; 66 North Ave (RM, Ward 3C) Sarah M. Holbrook Community Center Appeal of an administrative denial for a proposed new sign.

3. 20-0854CA/CU; 266 Queen City Park Rd (ELM, Ward 5S) Burton Corporation Conditional use application to create

11,560 SF Performing Arts Center use within an existing 85,000+ SF structure; proposed façade improvements to existing building exterior.

Plans may be viewed upon request by contacting the Department of Permitting & Inspections between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Participation in the DRB proceeding is a prerequisite to the right to take any subsequent appeal. Please note that ANYTHING submitted to the Zoning office is considered public and cannot be kept confidential. This may not be the final order in which items will be heard. Please view final Agenda, at www. burlingtonvt.gov/dpi/ drb/agendas or the office notice board, one week before the hearing for the order in which items will be heard.

CITY OF BURLINGTON ORDINANCE 7.02 Sponsor: Department of Public Works, Ordinance Committee Public Hearing Dates: __ First reading: 09/09/19 Referred to: Ordinance Committee Rules suspended and placed in all stages of passage: Second reading: 05/18/20 Action: adopted Date: 05/18/20 Signed by Mayor: 06/11/20 Published: 06/17/20 Effective: 07/09/20 In the Year Two Thousand Twenty An Ordinance in Relation to Streets and Sidewalks— Excavation and Obstruction Permits It is hereby Ordained by the City Council of the City of Burlington as follows: That Chapter 27, Streets and Sidewalks, Article II, Excavations and Obstructions, Division 1, Permits, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington be and hereby is amended by amending Sections 27-29, Permit required, 27-30, Contents of permit for excavation; fee, 27-31, Obstructing street or sidewalk prohibited; exception, 27-32, Time limit for permit to obstruct street or sidewalk; fee, 27-33, Obstructing metered parking spaces prohibited; exception, 27-34, Permits for curb cuts required, 27-35, Cuts to conform with requirements, 27-36, Replacement of curbing, and 27-37 Penalties; suspension; revocation as follows:

27-29 Permit required. (a) No person, firm, corporation or city department shall disturb the ground or pavement in any street, sidewalk, curb or tree belt within the city without first obtaining a written permit therefor from the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee. (b) The applicant for a permit, his or her agent, and the contractor doing the work shall before the issuance of the permit submit the following to the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee: (1) A permit bond in the amount of fi ve thousand dollars ($5,000.00) guaranteeing compliance with terms and conditions of the article, or a cash deposit in lieu thereof.

(2) A certificate of insurance affording the following coverage: General liability: $1,000,000.00 Bodily injury, per person: $100,000.00 Bodily injury, per occurrence: $300,000.00 Property damage, per occurrence: $100,000.00 This insurance shall include coverage for collapse and underground (CU) hazard, explosions (X) coverage, at the discretion of the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee, and contractual liability.

Automobile liability: Bodily injury, per person: $100,000.00 Bodily injury, per occurrence: $300,000.00 Property damage, per occurrence: $100,000.00 This insurance shall include coverage for owned, non-owned and hired vehicles. The superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee, at his or her discretion, will accept satisfactory evidence of self-insurance in lieu of the above coverage.

The above-referenced insurance shall not be cancelled without thirty (30) days’ written notice to the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee.

(3) - (5) As written.

(6) A satisfactory plan for the subject property and adjacent properties showing existing surface and subsurface conditions including the placement of existing utilities, trees and vital structures such as fire hydrants, fire stations, fire escapes, water

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FROM P.49

6x 9+ 40x 30x

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FROM P.49

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5 6 3 2 4

6 4 9 2 55 7 148 3

3 7 2 1 9 5 6 4 8

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2 3 1 6 5

8 5 1 4 12+ 1 6 2 9 4 7 3 8 3 8 4 5 12+ 6 3 7 2 2 9 6 1 524x 4 8 7 9 1 5 3 Difficulty - Medium 7 2 9 6

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9x

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Using the enclosed math operations as a guide, fill the grid using the numbers 1 - 6 only once in each row and column.

Calcoku

PUZZLE ANSWERS

4

(d) Emergencies.

Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent the making of excavations as may be necessary for the preservation of life or property provided that the person, firm, corporation, or city department making such excavation shall apply to the superintendent of streets Director of Public

6

(1) – (3) As written.

(e) In the event excavations occur within the so-called drip line of a public street tree, any permit issued by the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee must be countersigned by the superintendent of streets Director of Parks and Recreation or his or her designated representative designee. In addition, nothing in this article shall authorize the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee to permit

5

(c) The superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee reserves the right to withhold issuance of permits when:

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The fee shall excavator, no more than 6/4/20 be based upon two1:17 (2) PM such excavations information supplied shall be covered by a to the superintendent single permit, provided Director of Public Works such single permit shall or his or her designee be allowed only where by the excavator at the the distance between time of application and the excavations shall as verified by the city not be greater than inspector. The fee shall twenty (20) feet at their be annually adjusted opposite extremities.

July 1, 1987, and each Additionally, where an July 1 thereafter to operation includes jackreflect any change in the ing or boring requiring consumer price index for excavation on each side that preceding year. of a public way, only one permit shall be required (2) As written. for such excavations, provided such jacking (c) As written. or boring shall not accommodate a conduit (d) Generally, a permit larger in diameter than shall cover only contigu- six (6) inches. ous construction and work performed as one (e) A permit shall excontinuous operation, pire for work not started except as otherwise within three (3) seven determined by the su(7) days or completed perintendent of streets within fi fteen (15) thirty Director of Public Works (30) days after issuance or his or her designee of a permit, and a new . Notwithstanding the permit shall be required preceding sentence, before beginning or where a continuous completing the work, and single operation unless otherwise apinvolves separate proved by the Director excavation by a single of Public Works or his or her designee.

1

(7) As written.

the conversion of any (g) Where an 3/16/20 FSBO-Rogerson061020.indd 5:03 PM 1 is to occur tree belt area from that excavation use to any other use within the Church Street with the exception of Marketplace District, driveways without the any permit issued by the expressed permission of Director of Public Works the parks and recreation or his or her designee commission. must be countersigned by the Church Street (f) Where an excavaMarketplace District tion is for the limited Administrator Executive purpose of planting a Director of the Church tree, or erecting a sign, Street Marketplace resurfacing a driveway, Department, who shall or other minor disturhave the authority bance as authorized to specify the time of and approved by the excavation in a reasonDirector of Public Works able manner so as to or his or her designee, avoid any conflict with within the public planned marketplace right-of-way, including district events. the so-called greenbelt, 27-30 Contents of the superintendent of streets Director of permit for excavation; Public Works or his or fee. her designee, subject (a) As written. to the approval of the (b) (1) The fee for an superintendent of parks excavation or improveand recreation Director ment permit, payable of Parks and Recreation in advance is as follows or his or her designee unless otherwise the may waive any of the requirements contained subject of an express agreement with the in subsections 27-29(b) city: and 27-30(b), (d), (e) a. – c. As written. and (f).

2

structures, and any other vital equipment as designated by the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee;

Works or his or her designee for a permit on the first working day after such excavation is commenced. Even in emergency situations, notice shall be given immediately by phone to the street department, police department, and fire department, and all provisions of this article shall apply to such emergency.

3

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7 2 2/ 8 3 5 2 /1 9 6 1 4 3 8 2 9 6 7 4 5

fsb

(f) A permit shall contain a commencement date and estimated date of completion.

“Completion date,” as used in this section, means the date upon which the permanent pavement resurfacing is finished and accepted by the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee. (g) (1) Whenever the city has developed an annual work program for the reconstruction of city streets, the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee shall send written notice thereof to all abutting property owners and to all departments, utilities or others which have pipes, wires, cables, conduits or other such facilities beneath the surface of the streets to be reconstructed. Such notice of the annual

street reconstruction program shall be sent no later than April 15.

(2) As written.

(3) Upon receipt of the notice of the annual street reconstruction program, such person, department or utility shall have not more than sixty (60) days to complete any subsurface work contemplated, or, if an extension of time is needed, shall obtain a subsurface work schedule approved by the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee. If an applicant objects to the subsurface work schedule required by the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee, the review and approval may be sought from the board of street commissioners Public Works Commission.

(4) As written. (h) As written.

27-31 Obstructing street or sidewalk prohibited; exception. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to temporarily obstruct a street or sidewalk without first obtaining a written permit therefor from the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee, except as hereinafter provided.

Within the Church Street Marketplace District on any portion of Church Street, College Street, Bank Street, or Cherry Street used for vehicular traffic, the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee shall not issue a permit until the Administrator of the Church Street Marketplace District Commission Executive Director of the Church Street Marketplace Department approves

of such obstruction.

In the inner two (2) pedestrian blocks of the marketplace district, the marketplace district commission administrator Executive Director of the Church Street Marketplace Department shall have exclusive jurisdiction to issue permits. (b) As written. (c) As a condition of the issuance of a permit, the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee, and where appropriate the administrator Executive Director of the Church Street Marketplace District Commission Department , may, in his or her discretion and depending on the nature and complexity of the obstruction, require safeguards in addition to those required in section 27-46 for the protection of vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

27-32 Time limit for permit to obstruct street or sidewalk; fee. (a) No permit as required by Section 27-31 shall be for longer than thirty (30) sixty (60) days, except as authorized by the city council City Council or, in the case of obstructions within the inner two (2) pedestrian blocks within the Church Street Marketplace District, the Church Street Marketplace District Commission. A permit may be extended from week to week by the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee , or the administrator Executive Director of the District Commission Church Street Marketplace Department, for up to 60 days, as appropriate, subject to the order of the city council City Council or the Chur ch Street Marketplace

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

LEGALS » 51

nature of the obstruction, the purpose of the obstruction, and the time allowed for it to remain or continue. The permit shall specify the number of metered spaces to be obstructed.

[CONTINUED] District Commission, as appropriate. (b) The fee for a permit for a week or part thereof shall be five twenty dollars ($520.00). There shall be an additional fee of five dollars ($5.00) for every additional week of obstruction. (c) – (d) As written. (e) For obstructions longer than sixty (60) days, the permit fee shall be one dollar ($1.00) per square foot in the public right of way, unless it is for obstructing a metered parking space, then the fee shall be the maximum daily meter rate. Any encumbrance that requires more than one year shall require an annual permit renewal, paying the associated fee annually, unless otherwise determined by the City Council; such renewal will be measured on an annual basis beginning from the date of permit issuance.

27-33 Obstructing metered parking spaces prohibited; exception. (a) No person shall obstruct or use for an extended time a metered parking space without first obtaining a permit from the Department of Public Works traffic department or City Council. Two (2) Three (3) types of permits are available,: a 12-hour permit and, a 24-hour permit, and a long-term encumbrance permit. (b) Permits for the obstruction of metered parking spaces may be issued for the following purposes only: (1) Construction, repair or maintenance work on abutting or nearby properties; (2) Loading or unloading goods, people, materials or equipment, or the use of such equipment, on abutting or nearby properties.; (3) Working in that immediate area of the street.; (4) The parking of vehicles used for events taking place in City Hall Park. ; or (5) Any other uses as approved by City Council.

The permit and the application for the permit shall state the

52

(c) The Department of Public Works traffic department shall upon issuance of the permit issue an appropriate number of meter hoods to the applicant for each parking space to be obstructed.

Upon the face of each hood shall be indicated in bold face “NO PARKING—TOW AWAY ZONE.” The applicant shall place the meter hood over the meter by 6:00 p.m. the preceding day. (d) The fee for a twelve (12) hour permit as required herein shall be fifteen dollars ($15.00) per day. The fee for a twenty-four (24) hour permit shall be thirty dollars ($30.00) per day. The long-term encumbrance permit fee shall follow the fee schedule set forth in 27-32. The Department of Public Works traffic department shall collect the fee. (e) - (f). As written.

27-34 Permits for curb cuts required. (a) No curb cut shall be changed or removed and no driveway on or across the public rightof-way shall be repaired or installed without first obtaining a written permit therefor from the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee. (b) Application for curb cuts and driveway permits shall be made on forms furnished by the street department. (c) The fee for each curb cut and/or driveway application/ permit shall be twentyfive dollars ($25.00).

27-35 Cuts to conform with requirements. (a) All work under a curb cut and/ or driveway permit shall conform to the specifications established by the board of street commissioners Department of Public Works. (b) All work under subsection (a) hereof shall be subject to inspection by the superintendent of streets or his designee Director of Public Works or his or her designee during construction and upon completion thereof.

27-36 Replacement of curbing.

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

(a) Where private property use has been modified so that an existing curb cut is no longer needed or where city ordinances do not permit curb cuts at existing locations the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works or his or her designee may require the abutting property owner to replace the curb at their expense within ninety (90) days from the date of notice. (b) If, after notice, the abutting property owner fails to comply with the superintendent of streets Director of Public Works’ or his or her designee’s order for curb replacement within ninety (90) days, the city may do the work and bill the current property owner for the cost.

27-37 Penalties; suspension; revocation. (a) Any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the provisions of this article shall be fined no less than seventy-five dollars ($75.00) nor and no more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each offense; and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day on which a violation occurs or continues. (b) Any permit issued under this article may be suspended by the city engineer or the issuing authority for violation of the permit or failure to observe city ordinances. Any permit issued pursuant to this article may be revoked after a hearing before the issuing authority.

Where necessary for the protection of public safety, the police department, by any of its officers, may order the suspension of work at an excavation, or the removal of an obstruction, and may order the work site secured. Such order or orders shall be effective only until the superintendent of the street department or his designee Director of Public Works or his or her designee has been notified of the activity and has had reasonable opportunity to visit the site to take action for the protection of the public, but in no event shall any order by the police department be effective for a period greater than twentyfour (24) hours. (c) As written. ** Material stricken out deleted. *** Material underlined added.

NOTICE OF SELF STORAGE LIEN SALE BURLINGTON SELF STORAGE, LLC 1825 SHELBURNE ROAD SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT 05403 Notice is hereby given that the contents of the self storage units listed below will be sold at public auction by sealed bid.

Name of Occupant Storage Unit Waggoner, Unit #313 Said sales will take place on 07/10/20, beginning at 11:00am at Burlington Self Storage (BSS), 1825 Shelburne Road, South Burlington, VT 05403.

Units will be opened for viewing immediately prior to auction. Sale shall be by sealed bid to the highest bidder.

Contents of entire storage unit will be sold as one lot. The winning bid must remove all contents from the facility at no cost to BSS, on the day of auction.

BSS, reserves the right to reject any bid lower that the amount owed by the occupant or that is not commercially reasonable as defined by statute.

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO. 1472-20 CNCV SOUTH BURLINGTON FIRE DISTRICT NO. 2 and CITY OF SOUTH BURLINGTON, Plaintiffs v. HEIRS, SUCCESSORS, ADMINISTRATORS and ASSIGNS of ARTHUR ELSOM, ESTATE OF ARTHUR ELSOM, LAURA J. ELSOM, ESTATE OF LAURA J. ELSOM, GLADYS ELSOM WHITE, MYRTLE ELSOM MEOLA, and ARTHUR CLAUDE ELSOM, and JOHN DOE I-IX and JANE DOE I-IX, Defendants SUMMONS AND ORDER OF PUBLICATION THIS SUMMONS IS DIRECTED TO: HEIRS, SUCCESSORS, ADMINISTRATORS AND ASSIGNS OF ARTHUR ELSOM, ESTATE OF ARTHUR ELSOM, LAURA J. ELSOM, ESTATE OF LAURA J. ELSOM, GLADYS ELSOM WHITE, MYRTLE ELSOM MEOLA, and ARTHUR CLAUDE ELSOM, and JOHN DOE I-IX AND JANE DOE I-IX 1. YOU ARE BEING SUED. Plaintiffs have started a lawsuit against you.

A copy of Plaintiff’s Complaint is on file and may be obtained at the office of the Clerk of this Court, Vermont Superior Court, Civil Division, 175 Main Street Burlington, Vermont. Do not throw

this paper away. It is an official paper that affects your rights.

2. PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIM. Plaintiffs’ claim is for Quiet Title and Declaratory Judgment, relating to deed restrictions contained in a certain Warranty Deed of Arthur Elsom to the South Burlington Fire District No. 2, dated March 14, 1947, and recorded in Volume 20 at Page 480 of the Land Records of the Town of South Burlington, to wit: restricting the property to be used by the Fire District for the purpose of a sewage treatment plant and for any other purpose that may benefit said Fire District, such as a playground or public park, and that said land shall not be sold for any other purpose to any successor or assign of the Fire District, but may be conveyed to the Town of South Burlington, its successors or assigns in event of discontinuance of the Fire District.

The Complaint seeks a decree from the Court to declare and adjudge that these restrictions shall be deemed null and void.

3. YOU MUST REPLY WITHIN 42 DAYS TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS. You must give or mail the Plaintiffs a written response called an Answer within 42 days after the date on which this Summons was first published, which is June 3, 2020.

You must send a copy of your Answer to the Plaintiffs or the Plaintiffs’ attorneys located at: John T. Leddy, Esq., McNeil, Leddy & Sheahan, P.C., 271 South Union Street, Burlington, VT 05401, Attorney for So. Burlington Fire District No. 2. Andrew M. Bolduc, Esq., City Attorney, City of South Burlington, 575 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT 05403, Attorney for City of South Burlington.

You must also give or mail your Answer to the Court located at: Vermont Superior Court, Civil Division, 175 Main Street, P.O. Box 187, Burlington, VT 05402.

4. YOU MUST RESPOND TO EACH CLAIM. The Answer is your written response to the Plaintiffs’ Complaint.

In your Answer, you must state whether you agree or disagree with each paragraph of the Complaint. If you believe the Plaintiffs should not be given everything asked for in the Complaint, you must say say in your Answer.

5. YOU WILL LOSE YOUR CASE IF YOU DO NOT GIVE YOUR WRITTEN ANSWER TO THE COURT. If you do not send the Plaintiffs your Answer within 42 days after the date on which this Summons was first published and file it with the Court, you will lose this case. You will not get to tell your story, and the Court may decide against you and award the Plaintiffs everything asked for in the Complaint.

6. YOU MUST MAKE ANY CLAIMS AGAINST THE PLAINTIFFS IN YOUR REPLY. Your Answer must state any related legal claims you have against the Plaintiffs. Your claims against the Plaintiffs are called counterclaims. If you do not make your Counterclaims in writing in your Answer, you may not be able to bring them up at all. Even if you have insurance and the insurance company will defend you, you must still file any Counterclaims you have.

7. LEGAL ASSISTANCE. You may wish to get legal help from a lawyer.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, you should ask the Court Clerk for information about places where you can get free legal help. Even if you cannot get legal help, you must still give the Court a written Answer to protect your rights or you may lose the case.

ORDER. The affidavit of Plaintiff’s counsel filed in this action shows that service cannot be made with due diligence by any of the methods provided in Rule 4(d-(f), (k), or (l) of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure.

Accordingly, it is ORDERED that service of the Summons set forth above shall be made upon Defendants, Heirs, Successors, Administrators and Assigns of Arthur Elsom, Estate of Arthur Elsom, Laura J. Elsom, Estate of Laura J. Elsom, Gladys Elsom White, Myrtle Elsom Meola, and Arthur Claude Elsom, and John Doe I-IX and Jane Doe I-IX, by publication as provided in Rule 4(g) of those Rules.

This Order shall be published once a week for three weeks beginning on June 3, 2020, in Seven Days, a newspaper of general circulation in Chittenden County, and a copy of this Summons and Order shall be mailed to the Defendants, if an address is known.

DATED at Burlington, Vermont, this 29th day

of May, 2020. /s/ Helen M. Toor_ Hon. Helen M. Toor Superior Court Judge

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO. 1665-1219 CNPR IN RE: ESTATE OF ADAIR G. LOBDELL NOTICE TO CREDITORS To the creditors of Adair G. Lobdell, late of Shelburne, 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 date of the first publication of this notice. The claim must be presented to me at the address listed below with a copy sent to the court. The claim may be barred forever if it is not presented as described within the four (4) month period.

Dated: June 11, 2020, /s/ John G. Gans, Executor/ Administrator: John G. Gans Address: 340 E. 72nd Street #15S City, State, Zip: New York, NY 10021 Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 6/17/2020 Address of Court: Chittenden Unit, Probate Court, 175 Main Street, P.O. Box 511, Burlington, VT 05402

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO. 467-4-20 CNPR IN RE: ESTATE OF BARBARA J. POQUETTE. NOTICE TO CREDITORS: To the creditors of Barbara J. Poquette, late of Shelburne, 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 date of the first publication of this notice. The claim must be presented to me at the address listed below with a copy sent to the court. The claim may be barred forever if it is not presented as described within the four (4) month period.

COMMUNITY BANK, N.A., Fiduciary Dated: 6/8/2020 By /S/_Sean Houghton, Duly Authorized Agent. Executor/ Administrator: Community Bank, N.A., c/o Sean T. Houghton, 275 Kennedy Dr., South

Burlington, VT 05403 sean.houghton@ cbna.com Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 6/17/20 Address of Court: Chittenden Unit, Probate Court, 175 Main Street, P.O. Box 511, Burlington, VT 05402

THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE FOOD SERVICE DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION OF VERMONT (FDA), WILL RECEIVE SEALED BIDS FOR PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) FROM FULL SERVICE SUPPLY DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES. Bids are due on or before, but no later than 10:00 AM, Monday, June 22nd at Burlington High School, 52 Institute Road, Burlington, VT 05408. Attention Doug Davis, Burlington School Food Project.

The sealed proposals will be opened at the same time and address.

Notification of the award, if any, will be made no later than 60 days from the date of opening. Please address proposals to the attention of Doug Davis and follow the submission directions in the Bid Packet.

Anyone interested in receiving a full bid packet or more information, contact Doug Davis, Director of Food Service at 802 864 8416 or vermontfda@ gmail.com or ddavis@ bsdvt.org

TOWN OF ESSEX ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT PUBLIC HEARING MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE ROOM 81 MAIN STREET, ESSEX JCT., VT JULY 2, 2020 6:00 PM COVID-19 UPDATE: Due to the COVID-19 / coronavirus pandemic, this meeting will be held remotely and recorded via Microsoft Stream.

Join via Microsoft Teams at https:// tinyurl.com/ESSEXZBA . Depending on your browser, you may need to call in for audio (below). Join via conference call (audio only): (802) 377-3784 | Conference ID: 480 347 627# 1. Variance: Seth & Ashlee Brownell are proposing to construct a two story, 20’x25’ garage addition 4’ from the southwest property line located at 69 Susie Wilson Road in the R2 District. Tax Map 54, Parcel 13. 2.

Minutes: June 4, 2020 Note: Visit our website at www.essexvt.org if you have questions or call 802-878-1343.

53 JUNE 17-24, 2020

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 PAINTER Seeking a seasonal employee for the busy summer months through October, with the potential for interior work in the winter. Must have reliable transportation and be able to do physically demanding work outdoors all day.

Familiarity with spraying a plus.

We do higher end, clean work for wonderful clients and all employees are expected to maintain a high standard of decorum and professionalism.

Send resumes to: classicshadespainting@ gmail.com

HOUSEKEEPER Full-Time Vermont’s premier continuing Care Retirement Community seeks a member to join our housekeeping team. Housekeepers work collaboratively to support residents who live independently as well as those who live in residential care. Housekeepers are critical to the well-being of residents and the quality of the Wake Robin environment. Candidates must have housekeeping and/or industrial cleaning or industrial laundry experience.

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.

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE WORKER Sign On Bonus - Up to $2,000 with a starting salary of $14 an hour.

Responsible for the cleaning of all areas of the facility with the exception of the OR. Responsible for cleaning all areas of the facility with the exception of the OR. Must be resourceful and know how to adapt.

Wake Robin is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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LEARN MORE & APPLY: uvmmed.hn/evs

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6/12/20 2:52 PM

STAFF ACCOUNTANT

FULL TIME; BENEFITS ELIGIBLE; $18/HR; UNION BASIC FUNCTION: The Staff Accountant is responsible for all accounting functions as assigned by the Controller.

This may include accounts payable, non-student accounts receivable and serving as back up for payroll, as well as supplementing all aspects of the Business Office and accounting function.

For further information please visit goddard.edu/about-goddard/employment-opportunities Goddard College is committed to creating a college representative of a diverse global community and capable of creating change. To that end, we are actively seeking applications from qualified candidates from groups currently underrepresented in our institution for this position. This institution is an E.O.E. 5h-GoddardCollege061020.indd 1

6/8/20 2:14 PM Untitled-22 1

New, local, scam-free jobs posted every day! sevendaysvt.com/classifieds 5h_filler.indd 1

6/11/20 12:25 PM

4/7/20 1:31 PM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

54

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

JUNE 17-24, 2020

Commercial Roofers & Laborers

Now Hiring!

Join Community Health Centers of Burlington (CHCB), where we strive for and work toward our mission to provide health care to all people, regardless of their life circumstances.

HIRING EXPERIENCED CARPENTER

Our employment opportunities are continually changing!

Red House Building is looking to expand their team of craftspeople with a skilled carpenter.

• Patient Services Representatives • Referrals Representatives • Scheduling Representatives • Network Technician • Medical Coders • Medical Assistants

Applicants must have: » At least 5 years of full-time homebuilding/renovation experience » Maintain a valid driver’s license.

• Social Workers • Registered Nurse • Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner • Physician • Health Care Associates

Executive Assistant

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Coffee Enterprises is a global leader in coffee & tea analysis. Position requirements: Previous experience supporting executive management required. Essential functions: accounting experience with QuickBooks, working with a staff accountant, and A/P & A/R.

Check out our careers at chcb.org/careers.

Professional communication skills both written and verbal for creating and editing business communications and presentations. Must be highly organized and skilled with Microsoft office programs. Part-time 20-30 hours per week going to full time eventually

Meaningful work.

Flexible hours.

Hourly wage will depend upon the applicant’s skill level/experience.

Generous benefits package.

Reporting to the Founder & President. Send CV and cover letter to dancox@ce.coffee.

Please visit our website to learn more about our team at redhousebuilding.com and send resumes to jeremy@redhousebuilding.com

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6/1/20 8:43 PM

AMERICORPS VISTA POSITIONS: SNAP Outreach Systems Specialist Network Capacity Specialist

UVMHomeHealth.org

(802)

4t-UVMHomeHealthHospice061720.indd 1 EMERGENCY ROOM RNs We are seeking two AmeriCorps VISTA members The Emergency Room at Northeastern to join the Community Impact Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) Team at the VT Foodbank.

Want to make a lasting difference through work that matters? Come join a dedicated team working to ensure that everyone in Vermont has enough healthy food to eat, every day. The Vermont Foodbank is the largest hungerrelief organization in Vermont, providing 12 million pounds of food to 153,000 Vermonters each year through partnerships and innovative programs.

For more details & to apply, visit:

vtfoodbank.org/employment/ current-openings

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6/24/19 6:28 PM

Part-time, Hinesburg, VT

We are an equal employment opportunity employer, and are especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the organization.

Our ideal candidate would possess the following qualities: » Good communication and sense of teamwork » Professionalism » Attention to detail » Strong organizational skills.

Year round, full time positions.

Good wages & benefits. $16.50 per hour minimum; Pay negotiable with experience.

EOE/M/F/VET/Disability Employer Apply in person at: A.C. Hathorne Co. 252 Avenue C Williston, VT 802-862-6473

Events and Virtual Student Life Coordinator

The Emergency Room RN position provides direct care, evaluates outcomes, consults with other specialties as required, and adjusts nursing care processes as indicated. Working well under pressure, RNs collaborate with other health team members to coordinate medical and nursing management of patient care. Our knowledgeable and passionate RNs continuously learn and grow within their roles at NVRH thanks to our tuition reimbursement, loan repayment, and scholarship programs.

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2:34 PM

The Database Administrator (DBA) is responsible for the performance, integrity, and security of Vermont Law School’s information systems’ databases. The DBA provides technical expertise in the design, implementation, and maintenance of database management systems that support institutional 860-4433 business and clinical applications. Additional responsibilities include reporting, data input and output, technology management, and end-user training and support.

6/16/20 10:10 AM

is currently looking for experienced Emergency Room RNs. Full-time, night positions available.

Apply: nvrh.org/careers.

6/15/20 Database Administrator

The Events Coordinator provides professional expertise and administrative support in the scheduling, planning and implementation of all law school events and functions.

The Events Coordinator works with key stakeholders to organize, prioritize, and collaboratively plan events to ensure that high standards and campus priorities are reflected in their presentation. The Events Coordinator serves as the liaison between the support functions and the sponsoring group. The Events Coordinator is central to student life at Vermont Law School, and is also responsible for ideas idea and initiatives that (under the supervision of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Diversity) improve the sense of community for residential and online students.

Vermont Law School is committed to an inclusive, diverse, and supportive student, faculty and staff community. For more information on our diversity programs and policies, please visit our website at vermontlaw.edu. ADA/EOE.

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6/16/20 9:42 AM

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSJOBS, SUBSCRIBE TO RSS, OR BROWSE POSTS ON YOUR PHONE AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY! JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

COOK - Full Time REGISTERED NURSE/LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE

Vermont’s premier continuing care retirement community is adding members to its team! Wake Robin provides a fine dining experience with a focus on farm to plate freshness, and a work environment that is hard to find in the restaurant industry.

• We work from scratch, not from a box • 40% of our produce is local/organic • Innovative on-site protein butchering and smoking • Manageable schedule ending in early evening • Superb kitchen facilities with excellent benefits

Valley Vista is seeking full-time, part-time, & per diem nurses (LPN or RN) for all shifts, to join our team and support our 19 bed women's unit in Vergennes, VT, as they move toward a life in recovery.

Job Duties: • Provide appropriate nursing services and education to clients.

• Observe, record, and report to the appropriate person any symptoms, reactions and changes in a client’s condition.

• Receives and transcribes physician order to client charts.

• Chart nursing notes in an informative and descriptive manner reflecting the care provided and the response to that care.

• Participate in report at shift change.

• Administer Mantoux upon admission.

• Complete scheduled weekly updates.

• Complete scheduled chart audits.

Job Requirements: • LPN or RN License • Interest in Behavioral Health and Chemical Dependency

Our cook will have experience producing high quality soups, sauces and entrees from scratch, demonstrate experience in all aspects of cooking from grilling to sautéing, and pay strong attention to the quality of food consistency & delivery.

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.

55 JUNE 17-24, 2020

INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS HUUSD has anticipated openings for instructional assistant positions at Waitsfield Elementary and Crossett Brook Middle Schools beginning in the 2020-2021 school year. There are opportunities at various grade levels, from preschool-8th grade. We have both full-time and part-time positions following the school calendar and offer competitive pay and benefits. Love of children and prior experience preferred; Associate’s degree or equivalent required.

Contact Principal Kaiya Korb at kkorb@huusd.org or 496-3643 for more information and/or to apply.

Interested candidates can send their resumes to hr@wakerobin.com or fill out an application at wakerobin.com. Wake Robin is an E.O.E.

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Program Director

Welcome New Grads! $23 to $32 dependent on licensure & experience, with shift differentials. Possible sign-on bonus available.

Vermont College of Fine Arts welcomes applications for the director of the MFA in Visual Art. The Program Director is a managerial, administrative position reporting to the Academic Dean.

6/15/20 3:19 PM

DIRECTOR OF ADULT PROGRAMS/ ASSISTANT CURATOR

River Arts is looking to hire a Director of Adult Programs/ Assistant Curator to plan and manage our arts programming for adults and coordinate/assist in 5v-ValleyVista061020.indd 1 6/9/20 curating our two on site galleries-The Common Space Gallery (first floor) and The Folley Hall Gallery (second floor)--as well as two FULL/PART-TIME off site spaces in the Morrisville Post Office and Town Offices.

Onion River Outdoors is a communityFor more information and instructions on how to apply, This 10 hour a week part time minded gear and apparel shop in please visit our Careers page: vcfa.edu/about/jobs-at-vcfa/ position would work directly with Montpelier, Vermont. We are Central our executive director and head Vermont’s recreation experts, opening curator Joseph Pensak to hone and re-contextualize our current doors to the outdoors by supporting offerings of art classes, workshops our customers’ hiking, biking, running, 4t-VTCollegeFineArts061720.indd 1 6/12/20 10:20 AMand programs to our post-COVID camping, skiing, snowshoeing, and other outdoorsy pursuits. world while creatively constructing We are passionate about the Green Mountains, new programs, making use of our local community, and the activities we do here. both our physical on-site spaces at the River Arts center and online/ We seek an energetic, positive, skilled bike mechanic to join our social media tools. The ideal • 100% COLLEGE TUITION team. Qualified applicants will have a minimum of two years of recent candidate would have at least • STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT bicycle repair experience, including working knowledge of current bike three years of experience curating/ conceiving art shows, and possess technology (suspension overhaul service, mountain and road hydraulic • HEALTH AND LIFE INSURANCE good communication skills, deep disc brake setup and maintenance, wheel-building, etc.). Applicants • $20,000 SIGNING BONUS familiarity with social media/web, must be organized, personable,willing to learn, and be able to work marketing/design (Photoshop, efficiently and effectively as a member of a team in a customer-focused Squarespace, MailChimp) environment. While ORO is a strengths-based workplace, building on the and a passion for connecting community members with the expertise of each team member, all staff pitch in to help with any job that arts.

The position requires two five needs to be done. Experience working on e-bikes is a plus, as is previous hour days per week (flexible and retail work. Our dream candidate for this position would also have skicoordinated in conjunction with tuning experience and be an active promoter of biking on social media. our office schedule) in the River Arts office in Morrisville, VT. Send Schedule is part-time or full-time; some weekends and holidays. To apply, VTGUARD.COM CV to Executive Director Joseph please send a resume and 3 references to outdoors@onionriver.com.

1-800-GO-GUARD Pensak at joseph@riverartsvt.org.

Job Type: Full-time, Salary: $23.00 to $32.00/hr.

Send resumes to: jenny.gilman@vvista.net

Bike Mechanic

Responsibilities include: working closely with the Faculty Co-chairs, faculty, and administration to manage the strategic direction, organization, and operations of the low-residency program; overseeing the admission application review and enrollment process; overseeing student retention and progress through the program; 3:18 PM collaborating with the faculty in the process of faculty hiring and retention; facilitating the hiring of artist-mentors; strategizing long term program success; collaborating on outreach and marketing; supervising program staff and program office; designing and managing program budget; and planning and overseeing two oncampus residencies.

WE’RE HIRING

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PART-TIME JOBS FULL-TIME BENEFITS

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6/16/20 1:01 PM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

56

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

JUNE 17-24, 2020

WE ARE HIRING FACILITIES TECHNICIANS! Technicians work on the continuous operation and maintenance of the following systems: high-temperature hot water, chilled water and glycol chilled water, centralcompressed air, high-pressure compressed air, ultra-pure water, ultrapure gas, and other systems that support manufacturing operations.

Candidates must have a High School diploma and at least one year of relevant experience. Associate’s degree in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering strongly preferred. Eligible for Benefits on Day 1! https://gfoundries. taleo.net/careersection/ gf_ext/jobdetail. ftl?job=20001022&tz= GMT-04%3A00&tzname= Questions? Email: Melinda.Antonucci@ globalfoundries.com

Marketing Manager

South Burlington, Vermont Amazing opportunity for an experienced Marketing Manager to lead the Marketing team at New England Federal Credit Union!

The Marketing Manager position will manage the marketing, public relations & financial education activities for our Vermont and Detroit, Michigan locations. The role will identify member segments that generate demand for our products and services, while implementing marketing promotions that will focus on loan and deposit growth.

This position will actively engage in community events/programs that support activities which improve the well-being of the communities we serve. The job will deliver valued financial educational opportunities to our members and general public.

The successful candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing with emphasis in business/communication and 5 years’ experience in either marketing, public relations, or advertising. The applicant will also have demonstrated experience in directly managing a team.

Experience within a financial institution is desired.

JOB REQUIREMENTS: Qualification requirement is a minimum of 2 years relevant experience. Qualified candidate must be proficient using QuickBooks and Microsoft (Excel, Work, etc). Experience with Peachtree and QuickBooks Online preferred.

To learn more about New England Federal Credit Union, this position and/or to apply to this opportunity, please visit the career page at:

WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPER

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JOB DESCRIPTION: Bottom Line Bookkeeping Services, Inc. is currently seeking a full time bookkeeper. Duties for this position will include but are not limited to: • Processing and management of Accounts Receivable • Processing and management of Accounts Payable • Cash flow management • Payroll processing to include filing of all returns to required federal and state agencies • Forecasting and budgeting • Reconciliation of accounts Time management is essential with the ability to prioritize workload. Candidate must be a highly organized and selfmotivated professional with problem solving skills and capable of working in a fast paced environment. Position requires effective communication with clients, co-workers and accountants. Applicant must be able to work independently and with co-workers. Ability to multitask is a must.

nefcu.com

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EOE/AA 1 6/16/205v-BottomLineBookkeeping061720.indd 9:26 AM

SENIOR PROPERTY ACCOUNTANT

PCC, a private, Winooski-based healthcare IT Benefit Corporation, seeks web developers to join our team. Bring your problem-solving skills and creativity to the table building web applications in an Agile development framework, assisting in not only extending current products, but also creating new product lines. Our ideal candidate is fast and flexible, great at finding and squashing bugs, and ready to work well with team members in a cross-functional development environment. Our work culture is casual and our employees are clever and dedicated. We strive for client satisfaction and our customer reviews are among the very best in our industry.

While our preferred candidate will have hands on experience with either Ruby on Rails or PHP, we’d love to hear from you if you have any full stack experience utilizing other webbased technologies such as Python or Java.

Don’t have full stack experience, but have built a career creating responsive front-end web applications using HTML, CSS, Javascript, or any front-end framework such as React, Angular or Vue? We’d also love to hear from you.

In order to keep our employees and families safe while we continue to develop our software and support our clients, PCC’s employees have been working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect this policy to continue a little longer so there will be virtual interviews for this position. Once our office is fully open, we will be looking for employees to be on-site at our Winooski office.

As a Benefit Corporation, we place high value on client, employee & community relationships.

Our company offers a friendly, informal, and professional work environment. PCC offers competitive benefits as well as some uncommon perks. To learn more about PCC, this role and how to apply, please visit our website at pcc.com/careers. Position open until filled.

No phone calls, please. AA/EOE. 7t-PCC061720.indd 1

Email resume/application to: vermontbookkeeper14@gmail.com

6/12/20 2:49 PM

Champlain Housing Trust is seeking a highly skilled accounting professional to perform and oversee all accounting functions related to maintaining accurate financial records for all owned properties, partnerships, and fee managed properties in CHT’s property and asset management portfolio. This position provides an opportunity to put excellent accounting skills to work in support of the development, management, and stewardship of permanently affordable homes in Northwestern Vermont.

The ideal candidate will have a bachelor degree in accounting, finance, or business, with at least five years of management experience, and experience preparing internal and external financial statements in compliance with GAAP. Experience preparing partnership, corporate, and/or non-profit tax returns is preferred. A positive attitude and significant level of self-motivation are a must.

One of Vermont’s Best Places to Work in 2020, CHT is a socially responsible employer offering an inclusive, friendly work environment and competitive pay commensurate with experience. Our excellent benefit package includes a generous health insurance plan, three weeks of paid vacation, 14 paid holidays, sick leave, 403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution after one year, disability and life insurance and more. For additional details regarding this position or to apply, please visit our career page: getahome.org/about/careers.

E.O.E. - CHT is committed to a diverse workplace and highly encourages women, persons with disabilities, Section 3 low income residents, and people from diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds to apply.

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6/15/20 12:09 PM

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSJOBS, SUBSCRIBE TO RSS, OR BROWSE POSTS ON YOUR PHONE AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY! JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

PROGRAM COORDINATOR The Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program Coordinator supports grant-making, data collection and evaluation for this VHCB program, which provides business planning and technical assistance to agricultural and forest-products entrepreneurs. We are seeking a self-directed person with strong communication, writing, organizational, and administrative skills. Data management experience and attention to detail are required; experience with spreadsheet and database tools is preferred. Knowledge of Vermont agricultural and/or forestry practices and related institutions is a plus. Full-time position with comprehensive benefits. Some in-state travel required. Applications will be reviewed beginning 6/30; the position is open until filled. EOE. Read the job description at www.vhcb.org/ about-us/jobs.Please respond with letter of interest and résumé by email to Laurie Graves: laurie@vhcb.org

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PART-TIME OFFICE ASSISTANT The Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC), a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization founded in 1963, is seeking a part-time Office Assistant to join our team in Montpelier. This half-time position will provide general support with broad duties that include copying and filing, errands, assisting with membership appeals, and other assignments as needed.

t WEB DEVELOPER s t This is a FT in-house position. t Turn PSD designs into fully functional responsive websites. t Knowledge of PHP, Drupal, WP, jQuery, GIT on the LAMP stack. t Attention to detail is a must. t Enthusiam about building next level web experiences even more so! t Benefits, yup.

Learn More -> hark.bz/careers

6/8/20Untitled-3 3:08 PM 1

Aldrich + Elliott, PC (A+E) is a 20-person engineering firm in Essex Junction, VT specializing in water resource engineering for municipalities in Vermont and New Hampshire. A+E offers a competitive salary and benefits package. This career will provide an opportunity to work with the A+E team, providing support to the engineering staff to serve municipalities in Vermont and New Hampshire with innovative solutions to their water resources engineering challenges. A+E is an E.O.E. Position Summary A+E is seeking an office manager to take responsibility for the smooth running of our office where your professionalism, initiative and office skills will be welcomed. Your full-time role will include providing a full range of office management duties.

This is an autonomous role which requires comfort with being independent and making decisions. This position is best suited if you have good interpersonal and organizational skills, and prior office management experience. Self-direction and problem-solving skills are required. This is a full-time, benefit-eligible position.

Preferred (but not required) Skills and Experience • Perform accounting functions including: Data entry of accounts payables, cash receipts, project billing terms, posting of such data, employee timesheet processing, monthly progress reports, journal entries, draft invoices, and final invoices.

Required Education and Experience • Associate’s degree required • 2-5 years’ experience in office management How to Apply: Please send your resume to Aldrich + Elliott via email to jrouille@aeengineers.com.

To get a glimpse at what we do, please visit our website at AEengineers.com.

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We are looking for someone who is highly organized, enjoys working in a collaborative nonprofit environment, possesses excellent verbal and written skills, has an attention to detail and basic computer skills, and is reliable and adaptable.

This position can grow into a full-time position with the right candidate subsequent to the repeal of public and workplace gathering restrictions. The qualified candidate will have at least two years’ experience in office administration. Email resume and cover letter in confidence to Nancy Davila: ndavila@vnrc.org.

Please submit applications by Friday, June 19.

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OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR/ OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

OFFICE MANAGER

57 JUNE 17-24, 2020

River Arts is looking to hire an Office Administrator/ Operations Coordinator to run our office and manage logistics for our arts programming, rentals, events, and artisan gift shop. This is a 20 hour/week position (typically 9am-1pm, with some flexibility), and the ideal candidate would have a love for/experience in the arts and 1-2 years’ experience as an administrative assistant. Detail oriented, loves and is passionate about connecting and serving people, and is proficient in social media/communication.

The Office Administrator/ Operations Coordinator would work directly for our executive director to manage the office/ programs calendar and enews/ mailouts, update our website (Squarespace experience a plus, but training is available) and be the first point of welcome for visitors. Ideally experienced in Photoshop, Salesforce, MailChimp, Google Docs/ Drive. Please send CV/resume to Executive Director at joseph@riverartsvt.org.

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6/8/20 9:06 AM

DISTRICT COORDINATOR/ HEAD OF ATHLETICS • Can you cultivate student leadership and promote participation in a diverse climate?

• Are you interested in assisting our coaches to see themselves as leaders?

• Do you have the experience creating a blueprint for building strong teams?

• Do you have skills that can help to create a positive parent culture?

If you do, we want you to consider an exciting opportunity to make a difference at the Burlington School District by applying to be our new District Coordinator-Head of Athletics for our Middle and High School D1 sports programs. It is our goal for this newly developed role to help the District reach maximum participation for all of our students in interscholastic athletics using the safest & most effective coaching and training methods.

Understanding the minds of the 21st century athletes is key to the success of our athletic program. We believe there are untapped opportunities for growth including creating a program implementing e-sports, creating a stronger NCAA pathway for our students, and supporting our middle-school athletes.

Burlington S.D. is a public school that prides itself on cultivating caring, creative and courageous people without barrier to race, gender, or socioeconomic class. The District is committed to a policy of non-discrimination, equal opportunity, diversity & affirmative action. We are dedicated to providing educational environments that value the diverse backgrounds of all students and staff. The District is ideally situated on the edge of Lake Champlain and is flanked by Mount Mansfield which is less than a 30-minute drive to the ski slopes. Burlington offers a thriving cultural center and in only 95 miles away from Montreal, Quebec and 3 hours away from Boston, Massachusetts.

For more information on this great opportunity and to apply to join our team, visit: BSDVT.org/Careers.

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6/16/20 10:59 AM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

58

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

JUNE 17-24, 2020

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (Full Time)

Town Planner & Zoning Administrator

The successful candidate will:

(part-time)

• Manage a growing peer-run recovery center with a style of motivation and empowerment • Play a leadership role with the center’s ongoing fundraising efforts • Offer firm, compassionate leadership for people in recovery from alcohol and/or drug addiction from all walks of life and all backgrounds • Nurture partnerships with state and local entities to assist those in recovery

Gary De Carolis, Executive Director, Turning Point Center of Chittenden County, 179 South Winooski Avenue, Suite 301, Burlington, VT 05401 or to garyd@turningpointcentervt.org.

Requires B.A. degree & min.

1 year relevant experience, excellent written & verbal skills, customer service orientation, fluent MS Office Suite applications & email.

The Turning Point Center of Chittenden County is a safe, substance-free environment, providing recovery support, social and educational opportunities, and fellowship to anyone actively interested in recovery from alcohol and/or drug addiction.

6/8/20

Request complete job 2:11 PM description &/or apply with cover letter & resume at: clerkbolton@gmavt.net. EOE

MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR Saint Michael’s College seeks a culturally competent licensed or licensed-eligible mental health counselor to provide shortterm counseling, assessment, crisis intervention, and outreach services to support and enhance the emotional well-being of students and the College community. The position is part of a multidisciplinary team of mental health and primary care providers within an integrated Wellness Center. It is four days/ week, ten months a year, August 1-May 31, and benefits eligible.

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Benefits include health, dental, vision, life, disability, 401(k), generous paid time off, employee and dependent tuition benefits, and discounted gym membership.

For full job description and to apply online go to: smcvt.interviewexchange.com.

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Department Manager

6/15/20

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

6/12/20 2:26 PM

Our Vermont business has a full-time position open for a grocery department manager. We are a small familyowned business with a great team and community.

POST YOUR JOBS AT: sevendaysvt.com/ postmyjob

We are looking for a motivated and experienced person to manage the grocery department of our business.

PRINT DEADLINE: Noon on Mondays (including holidays)

The position will involve overall operation of this department, attention to detail, leadership, including managing staff, tracking and assisting with sales, inventory reviews, marketing, strategic planning, staff evaluations, training employees, and general floor management.

FOR RATES & INFO: Michelle Brown, 802-865-1020 x21

10 years plus grocery management experience required.

Salary based on experience.

michelle@ sevendaysvt.com

JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM 6/12/20 10:36 AM

12:41 PM

MULTIPLE POSITIONS VERMONT JUDICIARY

The Vermont Judiciary is now hiring 6 month positions at locations across Vermont.

These full-time, limited service positions are funded through 12/31/20. They offer full benefits including healthcare, sick leave, holidays and paid time off.

FINANCIAL SPECIALIST III (#20016)

This position works at an advanced professional level accounting work in the maintenance, review and reconciliation of financial records to ensure compliance with accepted accounting principles and standards. Work may involve performing a wide variety of accounting and bookkeeping tasks in multiple complex fiscal programs. Work location likely in Montpelier. High School Degree and 3 years of accounting experience or college work required.

3:44 PM Starting pay at $21.16 per hour.

CLERICAL/ADMINISTRATIVE (#20015)

Approximately 10 Docket Clerk B positions, which will specialize in customer service, records keeping and data entry involving one or more docket areas. Work locations to be determined later but will likely include Burlington, Rutland, Brattleboro, St. Albans, Bennington, St. Johnsbury, White River Junction and Montpelier.

High school degree and 2 or more years of clerical work required.

Starting pay at $17.11 per hour.

OPERATIONS ASSISTANT (#20014)

Approximately 20 positions to coordinate the use of audio/ video technology to deliver court hearings over online meeting tools such as Webex, Zoom and YouTube livestreaming.

Working in either our IT Department (RIS) or the Planning and Court Services unit, this position exercises independent judgment and quick thinking. Extensive interaction with members of the legal community, judicial officers, court staff and the public. Work locations to be determined later but will likely include Burlington, Rutland, Brattleboro, St. Albans, Bennington, St. Johnsbury, White River Junction and Montpelier. High school and 4 years’ experience (will substitute 4 year degree for experience) with office systems required.

Starting rate is $23.67 per hour.

Go to vermontjudiciary.org/employment-opportunities/staffopenings for more details and to complete application.

Please email resume to: gayemarie@myfairpoint.net

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Vermont Construction is seeking experienced carpenters. We are offering great pay, and a fun work environment. If you are skilled and tooled, we may have a job for you.

Bolton seeks Planning & Zoning Administrator to process land use permits, Hiring immediately. Call 802-922-6357 or email staff volunteer town office@vermontconstructioncompany.com boards, coordinate project reviews & manage updates 6/5/20 to the Town Plan. 16-20 2h-VTConstructionCompany061020.indd 1 flexible hrs./week.

Full job description at: turningpointcentervt.org. Qualified applicants should reply with cover letter & resume by July 3 to:

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Experienced Carpenters

These positions are open until filled. The Vermont Judiciary is an E.O.E.

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6/8/20 2:30 PM

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSJOBS, SUBSCRIBE TO RSS, OR BROWSE POSTS ON YOUR PHONE AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY! JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

59 JUNE 17-24, 2020

LIVE-IN AND IN-HOME SUPPORT Seeking both Live-in and In-Home Supports for a very independent 30-year-old man with an intellectual disability and mental health diagnosis.

Responsibilities include: providing compassionate companionship, some assistance with meal planning/preparation, grocery shopping, providing reminders (medications, showering), some support with household chores as needed, and creating a weekly activity schedule to keep this individual engaged and on track.

Live-in: position oers free rent and utilities in Burlington, VT. The live-in-aide has their own room and bathroom. There is parking and laundry onsite. The live-in-aide position is supported by the Burlington Housing Authority.

In-Home Support: 10-15 hours of home support each week. The available shifts are Monday through Friday from 8:00am-10:00am as well as evening shifts from 5:00pm-8:00pm. We are seeking someone who can do mornings or evening or someone who can do both. The supports would take place in the client’s home. The payment is $15 per hour.

Please contact Hannah Sprague at 802-324-7730 if interested in either position.

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New, local, scam-free jobs posted every day!

6/9/20 1:40 PM

jobs.sevendaysvt.com

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CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSOCIATE High Mowing Organic Seeds is an independently owned leader in the non-GMO seed, farming and food community, committed to providing high quality organic seeds to our customers. We care about the earth, each other and what we do and are seeking an experienced full-time Customer Service Associate that shares our vision.

The Customer Service Associate is responsible for processing incoming orders and for providing excellent customer service to our broad range of customers. The successful candidate will receive and process large amounts of incoming orders by phone, web, fax, or email. He/she will answer customer questions about our products and growing practices in general and may also be asked to represent High Mowing at tradeshows and conferences if necessary. The ideal candidate must possess excellent customer service skills, including the ability to use positive language, attentiveness and adaptability to resolve customer complaints. This person should have a working knowledge of and experience with vegetable growing.

A complete job description can be obtained on our website: highmowingseeds.com/staff-and-careers. Please email your resume, cover letter, and references to jobs@highmowingseeds. com. Please put the job title in the subject line. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. No phone calls please.

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6/15/20 10:51 AM

6/16/20 12:25 PM

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 JUNE 17-24, 2020

CALCOKU & SUDOKU (P.49) CROSSWORD (P.49)

RYAN RIDDLE

Feel Good.

Do Good!

Feeling disappointed about the things you can’t do this season? Here’s how to have a feel-good summer:

Step One: Explore Vermont.

Step Two: Learn something new.

Step Three: Be a Good Citizen.

TAKE THE GOOD CITIZEN CHALLENGE, a youth civics program for young people in grades K-12. Each month we’ll announce new activities focusing on history, community, government, advocacy and news literacy to keep you and your family active and engaged.

Summer

2020 With support from:

Powered by:

Evslin Family Foundation

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Say you saw it in...

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VIEW ACTIVITIES AT

NOW IN sevendaysvt.com

3D!

2/25/20 4:00 PM

GOODCITIZENVT.COM 2V-GoodCitizen061720.indd 1

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

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6/16/20 5:11 PM

fun stuff JEN SORENSEN

HARRY BLISS

"My monthly screen time went up from 62 hours to 'holy #@!*.'"

RACHEL LINDSAY

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SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY REAL JUNE 18-24

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “The answers you get depend upon the questions you ask,” wrote physicist and philosopher Thomas Kuhn. That’s always true, of course, but it’s especially true for you right now. I recommend that you devote substantial amounts of your earthy intelligence to the task of formulating the three most important questions for you to hold at the forefront of your awareness during the rest of 2020. If you do, I suspect you will ultimately receive answers that are useful, interesting and transformative.

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20):

“A finished person is a boring person,” writes author Anna Quindlan. I agree!

Luckily, you are quite unfinished and thus not at all boring — especially these days. More than ever before, you seem willing to treat yourself as an art project that’s worthy of your creative ingenuity — as a work in progress that’s open to new influences and fresh teachings. That’s why I say your unfinishedness is a sign of good health and vitality. It’s delightful and inspiring. You’re willing to acknowledge that you’ve got a lot to learn and more to grow. In fact, you celebrate that fact; you exult in it; you regard it as a key part of your ever-evolving identity.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): My Aries friend Lavinia told me, “The fight I’m enjoying most lately is my fight to resist the compulsion to fight.” I invite you to consider adopting that attitude for the foreseeable future. Now and then, you Rams do seem to thrive on conflict or at least use it to achieve worthy deeds — but the coming weeks will not be one of those times. I think you’re due for a phase of sweet harmony. The more you cultivate unity and peace and consensus, the healthier you’ll be.

Do you dare act like a truce maker, an agreement broker and a connoisseur of rapport?

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “To hell with pleasure that’s haunted by fear,” wrote Cancerian author Jean de La Fontaine. I’ll make that one of my prayers for you in the coming weeks.

It’s a realistic goal you can achieve and install as a permanent improvement in your life. While you’re at it, work on the following prayers, as well. 1. To hell with bliss that’s haunted by guilt.

2. To hell with joy that’s haunted by worry. 3.

To hell with breakthroughs that are haunted by debts to the past. 4. To hell with uplifts that are haunted by other people’s pessimism.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Experiment No. 1: As you take a walk in nature, sing your five favorite songs from beginning to end, allowing yourself to fully feel all the emotions those tunes arouse in you. Experiment No. 2: Before you go to sleep on each of the next 11 nights, ask your dreams to bring you stories like those told by the legendary Scheherazade, whose tales were so beautiful and engaging that they healed and improved the lives of all those who heard them. Experiment No. 3: Gaze into the mirror and make three promises about the gratifying future you will create for yourself during the next 12 months.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Vincent van Gogh’s painting “The Starry Night” is one of the world’s most treasured paintings. It has had a prominent place in New York’s Museum of Modern Art since 1941. If it ever came up for sale, it would probably fetch over $100 million. But soon after he created this great masterpiece, van Gogh himself called it a “failure.” He felt the stars he’d made were too big

and abstract. I wonder if you’re engaging in a comparable underestimation of your own.

Are there elements of your life that are actually pretty good, but you’re not giving them the credit and appreciation they deserve? Now’s a good time to reconsider and reevaluate.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Now is a favorable time to make adjustments in how you allocate your attention — to reevaluate what you choose to focus on. Why? Because some people, issues, situations and experiences may not be worthy of your intense care and involvement, and you will benefit substantially from redirecting your fine intelligence in more rewarding directions. To empower your efforts, study these inspirational quotes: “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” —philosopher Simone Weil. “Attention is the natural prayer of the soul.” —philosopher Nicolas Malebranche.

SCORPIO

(Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio poet Marianne Moore’s poem “O To Be a Dragon,” begins with the fantasy, “If I, like Solomon, could have my wish...” What comes next? Does Moore declare her desire to be the best poet ever? To be friends with smart, interesting, creative people? To be admired and gossiped about for wearing a tricorn hat and black cape as she walked around Greenwich Village near her home? Nope. None of the above. Her wish: “O to be a dragon, a symbol of the power of Heaven — of silk-worm size or immense; at times invisible. Felicitous phenomenon!” In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to be inspired by Moore in the coming weeks. Make extravagant wishes for lavish and amusing powers, blessings and fantastic possibilities.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Poems,

like dreams, are a sort of royal road to the unconscious,” writes author Erica Jong. “They tell you what your secret self cannot express.”

I invite you to expand that formula so it’s exactly suitable for you in the coming weeks. My sense is that you are being called to travel the royal road to your unconscious mind so as to discover what your secret self has been unable or unwilling to express. Poems and dreams might do the trick for you, but so might other activities. For example: sexual encounters

between you and a person you respect and love, or an intense night of listening to music that cracks open the portal to the royal road. Any others? What will work best for you?

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.” Capricorn hero Martin Luther King Jr. said that, and now I’m conveying it to you. In my astrological opinion, his formula is a strategy that will lead you to success in the coming weeks. It’ll empower you to remain fully open and receptive to the fresh opportunities flowing your way, while at the same time you’ll remain properly skeptical about certain flimflams and delusions that may superficially resemble those fresh opportunities.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “If it makes

you nervous — you’re doing it right,” says the daring musician and actor Donald Glover. Personally, I don’t think that’s true in all situations.

I’ve found that on some occasions, my nervousness stems from not being fully authentic or being less than completely honest. But I do think Glover’s formula fully applies to your efforts in the coming weeks, Aquarius. I hope you will try new things that will be important to your future and/or work to master crucial skills you have not yet mastered. And if you’re nervous as you carry out those heroic feats, I believe it means you’re doing them right.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Piscean author Patricia Hampl understands a lot about the epic tasks of trying to know oneself and be oneself. She has written two memoirs, and some of her other writing draws from her personal experiences, as well. And yet she confesses, “Maybe being oneself is always an acquired taste.” She suggests that it’s often easier to be someone you’re not, to adopt the ways of other people as your own, to imitate what you admire rather than do the hard work of finding out the truth about yourself. That’s the bad news, Pisces. The good news is that this year has been and will continue to be a very favorable time to ripen into the acquired taste of being yourself.

Take advantage of this ripening opportunity in the coming weeks!

CHECK OUT ROB BREZSNY’S EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES & DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES: REALASTROLOGY.COM OR 1-877-873-4888

L ATEST VIDEO! Eva Sollberger’s

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6/16/20 11:34 AM

Respond to these people online: dating.sevendaysvt.com WOMEN seeking...

HAPPY, COMPASSIONATE AND CURIOUS I love to cook, dance, but most importantly, laugh. Favorite movie: Miracle at Morgan’s Creek; celebrity crush: Cary Grant; post-retirement dream (or if Trump gets reelected): escaping to a cottage in Connemara, Ireland. I am looking for a confident, kind, intelligent and easygoing man with a great sense of humor. Nella26, 64, seeking: M, l LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH Fun, fit, outgoing, active woman who loves to laugh and live every day to the max! Love traveling, fine dining, live music, dancing, kayaking and skiing!

I’m looking for a true gentleman who is educated, fit, and emotionally and financially secure to share similar interests! LightKC, 61, seeking: M ALTRUISTIC, ARTSY, ACERBIC As a newcomer to Vermont, I find that meeting folks is a challenge.

Compounded by pandemic distancing, face masks and stay-at-home orders, my social life extends to my dog, two cats and a bunch of Zoom meetings. I enjoy nearly all sports and performing arts. I love nature in all its forms, hiking, biking, birding and good conversation. Chevie, 66, seeking: M, l FAERY QUEEN Tender heart, sensual lover of earth and water, leader in life looking for strong, grounded, passionate love.

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SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

NERDY SNOWBOARDER SEEKS REAL LOVE I’m loving life in Vermont and looking for that someone special to share it with.

Not really interested in casual dating, because I find it to be a waste of time. A secure, committed relationship is what I’m dreaming of. I also need someone who will tolerate my nerdy side and be willing to play a board game with me. ShredBetty, 32, seeking: W, l HAPPY IN THE COUNTRY Upbeat, fit, energetic, educated, liberalleaning woman looking for male friend or maybe partner. Prefer rural lifestyle, farming, livestock, outdoors, exploring, living in a small town. Like live music, cooking, microbrews, maybe dogs and a cat, also chickens. I can do hard labor, gardening, light carpentry. Willing to learn more. Goshengal, 64, seeking: M, l THINKING ABOUT IT...

Probably everyone thinks they’re smart, funny, and reasonably good-looking, so no news there. So, what I hope to find: a reader, thinker — someone who likes movies, theater, museums, travel, music, conversation, and the Oxford comma. Three years into widowhood, I realize I could really use someone to share experiences with. The range of those experiences would have to be explored. ZanninVT, 63, seeking: M, l FEMININE, FIT, FUN-LOVING FOREST WOMAN If the sun is shining, you’ll find me outdoors. If I’m indoors pursuing my artwork or piano, it must be raining.

Silent sports, camping and canoeing.

Swimming every day. Looking for a fit and active outdoorsman. I’d like to see if we can become best friends and then take it from there.

Charley, 67, seeking: M, l SLIGHTLY STIR-CRAZY QUARANTINED WOMAN HERE! You: Zoom, dogs, cats, coffee, politics, companionship, early morning walks, sometimes hilarious, well-read, sexy, love good food, good books, outdoors and good women. Me: artist, Zoom, dogs, cats, critters, flowers, herbs, veggies, politics, good conversation, sometimes quiet, sometimes raucous, funny, sexy, love good food, good books, outdoors, mountains, conversation, hiking, skiing, touching. Looking for you. Lisarezz, 63, seeking: M, l REALLY? ME? THANKS! I love to make people laugh, and squirm, and wonder! I carry a six-foot stick to make people wonder ... and squirm. I’m overly fond of punctuation. Widowhood and viruses stink. 2020 was meant to be a year of new beginnings. Wanna suck some coffee through a cotton mask and give it a try? Boodles, 69, seeking: M 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 LUCKY IN LOVE AND NICARAGUA I loved being married. Sadly, he died young. I own gorgeous land in Nicaragua and want a partner to develop it with me as an artist/ surfer retreat (as soon as we get rid of the small problem of a dictator killing his own people). A perfect life is Vermont in summer and Nica in winter, but only with a terrific man. You? W, 72, seeking: M, l ARE YOU SEARCHING, TOO? Seeking kind, adventurous 60ish man who likes camping, fishing, walks, sunsets and Maine. I would like a partner who can surprise me with “Let’s go...” and off we go. I’m a true Vermont gal who needs adventure. Let’s have fun. BoredCat, 57, seeking: M, 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 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

MEN seeking...

NEW FUTURE, UNSETTLED/EXCITING! Caring, kind, adventurous, passionate and a little bit funny seeking same (or similar). If you like the outdoors, excellent! If you own a mountain bike, we should be talking! My situation is new and unsettled. A friend to chat with, to hang out with, and who can be open to and patient with my “process” would be really nice. Maker2020, 47, seeking: W, l UNCONDITIONAL LOVE SONG I want to live and love deeply. Since I was very young, I studied different cultures and religions. I also studied music and played in bands. I consider myself an observer of people. I love to write music; it’s my passion. One heart’s for love, one’s for giving. Two hearts are better than one. OurSong, 58, seeking: W, l IT’S BEEN YEARS...

And I still don’t find a connection! nickdoobs20, 30, seeking: W, TW, l

KILLER COUNTRY PIANO MAN Man seeks woman for companionship and property management of large B&B to assuage the wintertime blues.

Must like skiing, coffee and Bernese mountain dogs! Get in touch ASAP to learn more! I personally enjoy all kinds of music, food and nature on my 30-acres of wilderness in the NEK. Special preference given to Canadians, but Burl’s OK too. BRB, 35, seeking: W, l BE HAPPY Looking for a woman to date/friendship that could lead to long-term relationship.

I’m an outdoors kind of guy ... hiking, kayaking, gardening, tennis, golf, camping.

Hoping to do more foreign travel (after pandemic calms down). Been to Italy and Greece — would love to return or try a new destination. Try to eat a healthy diet and exercise. activeoptimist, 75, seeking: W, l FOUR SEASONS MAN LOOKING FOR FUN Hello. I consider myself to be a very open-minded, nonjudgmental, easygoing guy. I’m very well-rounded, a citizen of the world. I’ve been fortunate to travel and experience life. I want to keep experiencing life. What am I looking for: like-minded people, women or couples who want to enjoy life. Let’s start off meeting and see where time takes us.

Fourseasonsman, 53, seeking: W, Cp, l HANDSOME I am looking for someone who can make me happy and who loves to have fun. I am a loving, caring person. My hobby is woodcrafting. I love to listen to music and sing. Fun things I like to do are camping, fishing, going for walks. I like to listen to classic country music.

StarmanJohnny67, 52, seeking: W, l LOOKING FOR UNDERSTANDING Recently affected by sudden tragedy.

Looking for compassion and total release.

Not interested in more talk. I need a compassionate vessel. Mor, 45, seeking: W LET’S HAVE FUN Let’s think about this: We meet up, have a good time, get married and have two children. Five years down the road, we begin to fight, get a divorce and kids are unhappy. Or we meet up, have a good time and hook up. I wear a condom, and one of us does the walk of shame ... Just think about the kids.

Hiprocket69, 49, seeking: W, Gp, l ACTIVE, AWARE, SMART, SUCCESSFUL, THOUGHTFUL Native Vermonter who lived and worked in NYC for many years, now back in the Green Mountains. Well traveled, curious. Enjoy good food and interesting conversation.

Often listen to music (mainly adult alternative). I have a good sense of humor (Young Frankenstein and Airplane and so on). Avid skier. Enjoy hiking, biking.

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THE LONG VIEW There are people, passages in books and landscapes that speak to my heart.

I can find two out of three by myself.

I love to cook and eat and garden and read and travel. I am warm and reserved, complicated, honest ... and might just stop it here, lest I overthink.

I’m not sure quite how to do all this...

LongView, 61, seeking: W, l WANT TO MEET FUN FRIENDS I’m in a committed (sexless) relationship.

I’m not looking to change that, just want to explore new friends. I’ve had a couple threesomes before (fun) but would like to try with a bi couple. So drop a line.

Thanks. Tryme143, 57, seeking: Cp

TRANS WOMEN seeking...

IS THERE ANY HOPE? I’ve been a closeted trans ever since childhood, but just six months into transition now, at 64. So many regrets.

Life has not been kind. Wondering if there’s anyone out there who can love me for who I am, and let me love them for who they are. I’m legally female now, and never going back. Are you interested?

LaydeeBird, 64, seeking: M, l 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...

COUPLE LOOKING TO PLAY My soulmate/best friend and I are looking to add some spice. He is bicurious; she is bi. We have an open relationship, but anything extra is done together. If you are open to some fun, we’d love to hear from you. For personal reasons, we won’t put a pic, but we will send you one if we talk.

Meandmybestie, 46, seeking: 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, 46, seeking: M EXPERIENCE SOMETHING NEW We are a loving couple of over five years. Love to play and try new things.

Spend free time at the ledges. Looking for people to play with. Perhaps dinner, night out and maybe breakfast in the morning. Looking for open-minded men, women or couples who enjoy fun times and new experiences. 2newAdventurers, 52, seeking: M, W, Cp, Gp 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, 49, seeking: W

i SPY

If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

dating.sevendaysvt.com

NICE MOTORCYCLE You were behind me on the road in front of St. Mike’s driving a silver car and rocking a cute septum piercing.

You yelled “Nice bike” to me and then pulled up alongside me to say it again. I’d like to take you for a ride.

What do ya say? When: Sunday, June 14, 2020. Where: Winooski.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915068

SHORT HAIR, LONG SWEATER AT WALGREENS You made me smile a few times under my mask! Almost bumped into you. Maybe we will again. When: Tuesday, June 9, 2020. Where: Burlington Walgreens.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915062

CITY MARKET EMPLOYEE Petite, blond City Market employee.

Would love to chat, but it’s kind of rude to while you are trying to work. If you think this might be you, and you are at all intrigued, send me a message. When: Sunday, June 14, 2020. Where: City Market. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915067 APPLESAUCE...

I gave you my heart, my soul and my life. I would have saved or burned the world for you ... with you. But you’re afraid of the fire, the pain that comes from truly holding another close, and being engulfed. I’ll never stop loving you, but I need to matter ... to you, but also to myself. —Always your waffles. When: Sunday, June 14, 2020.

Where: on the shores of another life.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915065 UMALL MAILMAN Saw you at the mall this afternoon with your arms wrapped around some boxes.

I’d like a better look at those gorgeous tattoos you’ve got. When: Friday, June 12, 2020. Where: University Mall.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915064 YOUR NAME WAS ECHO You helped me out on June 9, and you caught my eye (even with a mask on).

Let me know if you are interested in connecting. When: Wednesday, June 10, 2020. Where: at their workplace.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915063

SATURDAY MANSFIELD HIKER GAL You asked my friend and me how far to the top of Mansfield via Sunset trail while we were running down. I joked that it was right around the corner. Sorry, it definitely wasn’t. How about an Oakledge sunset drink sometime? When: Sunday, June 7, 2020. Where: Sunset Ridge Trail, Mount Mansfield. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915061 OUTBACK BARTENDER You waited on us this past winter. You were so nice and helpful. You had a black Dickies shirt on that held pens.

We never got your name. We just heard Outback is not reopening and thought you might be a perfect fit for an admin job we had. Let us know if you are interested. When: Friday, January 3, 2020. Where: Outback Steakhouse.

You: Woman. Me: Woman. #915060 MR. POST OFFICE VACUUMER You were vacuuming the post office lobby early Monday morning while I was mailing a few letters. We joked that we startled each other. You seemed very friendly and kind. Could we meet again for coffee and conversation? When: Monday, June 1, 2020. Where: North Burlington Post Office. You: Man. Me: Man. #915059 YOU LOVE TO GARDEN… I like cooking it. Waiting in line to get into Middlebury Aubuchon. You showed me pictures of your garden and gave me your address. I forgot it. You are very interesting. Would like to talk again. When: Friday, May 29, 2020. Where: Middlebury.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915058

AUTOMASTER SERVICE BENCH, NOON, THURSDAY You: black Nike hat, white T-shirt, black shorts, tall, killer smile. Liked my silver sports car parked next to your bench while you waited for a ride. Amanda? We chatted about mask protocols, cars, your Civic. You asked where I lived (across the pond) and what my name was. Escape the virus on an ADK convertible tour?

Dogs in the park? When: Thursday, May 28, 2020. Where: Automaster service/parts outside waiting area.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915057 CITY MARKET CRUSH I’m far too shy to ask you out, it seems, so my best bet might just be writing to you instead. I know you’ve seen me in person in line at CM, at Battery Park during sunset and occasionally on the city streets. You’re just too cute for me to ignore. Look for me next wearing a sequined floral hat.

When: Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Where: City Market/Battery Park. You: Woman.

Me: Nonbinary person. #915056 CUTE GUY, CM PARKING LOT To the guy who locked eyes with me in the parking lot and then said “Cute dog”: I froze in the moment and said thank you, but I wanted to say that you were cute. Grab a coffee from a distance sometime? I had the brown Tacoma; you had a white Silverado. When: Sunday, May 24, 2020. Where: South End City Market. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915055 BERLIN POND DOG CROSSING 7ish. You: blue canoe, fishing pole, Rottweiler, rib tat. I was on my knees on my paddleboard so my dog wouldn’t tip me in the water. You commented that it looked like I had a good companion. I fumbled. Can’t remember the last time someone captivated me like you did. I stood for the rest of the paddle — eff it. When: Thursday, May 21, 2020. Where: Berlin Pond.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915054 JOJO, MONTPELIER RITE-AID It’s been quite a while. A little bird told me you might be looking. I’ve thought of you often. Haven’t met anyone who compares to you. I loved you at first sight and have never stopped loving you. Why don’t we meet up and chat, maybe around the Montpelier Rite-Aid? Drop me a line, please. When: Friday, August 21, 2015. Where: Rite-Aid. You: Man. Me: Man. #915053

Ask REVEREND Dear Too Faced, 

Irreverent counsel on life’s conundrums

Dear Reverend,

I had to run into a gas station the other day to grab something. As I was getting out of my car, I realized that I didn’t have a mask with me. I figured it was OK because it would be a quick in and out. A masked man in the store gave me the hairy eyeball and said really loudly, “I can’t believe they let people in here without a mask.” I wasn’t trying to be a jerk, but he made me feel like one.

Too Faced

(WOMAN, 53)

First off, a disclaimer: I’m not an epidemiologist, nor do I have any special insight into the data about mask wearing during COVID-19. Luckily, we can all find the most current preventative protocols on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, cdc.gov.

I understand that people are up in arms about masks. Either they don’t want to put them on or they think everyone should wear one at all times. People are yelling about it every day on Facebook, calling non-maskwearers “maskholes” and the like. A security guard in Michigan was shot and killed after asking someone to put on a mask when entering a store. It’s insanity.

RE: AMOR If I told you that a flower bloomed in a dark room, would you trust it? I mean, you need to hear this: Love is not just a verb, it’s you looking in the mirror; love is not just a verb, it’s you looking for it, maybe. Call me crazy. When: Friday, March 20, 2020. Where: across the stars. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915052

HOLD HANDS...

You left ... My heart is broken. Best, what happened?! I’m so sorry. No closure. It hurts. I thought that This Must Be the Place. Now I don’t get you, or a job, or a place to live, or a chance. I hope that you love yourself. I’ll never forget you — the Waffles to my Applesauce. Please come back. —Fresh. When: Monday, March 19, 2018. Where: Higher Ground.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915046

PRICE CHOPPER/WALGREENS, HINESBURG RD. You: pretty brunette braids and an even more beautiful soul. Me: sitting in my Jeep in the parking lot. You made my day, week — oh hell! — my 2020 just by your simple act of kindness the other day. Thank you for taking the brief moment you took to tell me I was beautiful! I’m still smiling over it. You rock! When: Thursday, May 14, 2020. Where: Price Chopper parking lot in front of Walgreens.

You: Woman. Me: Woman. #915051

W4W LOVE YOUR SHAVED HEAD You were far away from me, but it felt like you were close. I last saw you in a peach fur trench coat. I was the Chubby Muffin in a black jumpsuit.

You always hold my attention, but I want you to hold more. Even if you don’t write me back, I hope you hang this ad on your fridge. When: Friday, April 24, 2020. Where: on Hood Street in Winooski. You: Gender nonconformist. Me: Woman. #915044

RICHMOND MARKET THIRD TRIP IN We were at Richmond Market and crossed paths a few times. I had to go back twice — the third time for beer for my little sister. You parked two away from me and mentioned it when I came out. I grabbed some cans from Stone Corral instead. Let’s go for a hike or a mountain bike ride. When: Wednesday, May 13, 2020. Where: Richmond Market.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915050

FORD MAN, CUMBIES IN RICHMOND Your truck was dead and blocking me in. You had long beautiful hair and the kindest eyes. The two dogs in the front seat were adorable, and you being able to fix your truck in two seconds flat was almost better.

You melted my heart. I hope I run into you again soon. When: Sunday, May 3, 2020. Where: Richmond, Vt. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915043

MATTY Matty, I met you last summer while I was walking with my son on Rose Street. Are you still interested? I am single now and would love to see your big smile again. When: Saturday, June 1, 2019. Where: Rose Street.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915049 RUNNER WITH DOG To the runner I met today: I am an animal painter. You asked me if I was going to skateboard down Camel’s Hump. I would like to meet you again sometime. When: Saturday, May 2, 2020. Where: Battery Park. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915042 EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES You were by the river skipping stones and cursing Disney damsels. I counted one, two, three ... eight cats! I must know more. Fortune favors the bold? When: Sunday, May 3, 2020. Where: Winooski.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915045

Here’s my 2 cents. If you’re going to be in close proximity to strangers for any amount of time, suck it up and put on a mask. If you can, keep multiple facecovering options in handy locations: your car, your purse, etc. If you don’t have one with you and you’re just popping into a place that doesn’t require them, do your thing quickly and keep a good distance from others.

BIKE PATH ROLLERBLADERS This is a letter of appreciation for all the bike path rollerbladers. Thank you for keeping it funky and adding zest to the lakefront experience. I’m particularly talking about the mustard-yellow sweater wearer who glanced back and then nonchalantly spit as I passed you under the old train tracks with my silly bike horn around 5:30 on Saturday, headed south. When: Saturday, May 2, 2020. Where: bike path, Burlington.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915041 ‘OH, YOU GOTTA LOVE IT’ Some nights I wish I could go back in life. Not to change it, just to feel a couple things twice. 28 at midnight; wonder what’s next for me? Longevity.

Wonder how long to check for me?

Probably forever if I stay in my zone.

We speak on this generation but can’t change it alone. When: Friday, May 1, 2015. Where: in the city.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915040

You can also improvise. The other day, a pizza was delivered to my house, and I was outside with no mask nearby. When the delivery person came toward me, I pulled my shirt up over my mouth and nose. Easy-peasy.

You know what else is easy? If you don’t feel comfortable wearing a mask, avoid going to places that require them.

If you feel unsafe around people not wearing masks, avoid places that don’t require them.

We may be in the midst of a pandemic, but these words of wisdom are always relevant: Don’t be a dick, mind your own beeswax, and wash your damn hands.

Good luck and God bless,

The Reverend What’s your problem?

Send it to asktherev@sevendaysvt.com.

SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

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Internet-Free Dating!

I’m a 31-y/o woman seeking a fun and energetic 31- to 38y/o man. I’m seeking a Godbelieving, Christian faith-based man. I don’t drink or smoke.

I like to go dancing, listen to music, travel. #L1408 I’m a 59-y/o male seeking a male or female age 40 to 80 who is a nudist. Want company in the woods in northern Vermont. #L1407

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 you replied already, please contact me again. #L1412 I’m a 34-y/o simple guy seeking a 30- to 45-y/o male.

Good-looking with a good job. Looking for my partner in crime. Must love pets, going out, chilling at home. But have your life in order. Masculine guys preferred. #L1411

I’m a 38-y/o male seeking a 30to 40-y/o female. I’m looking for love before I turn 40 years. Could you be the one? I’m into poetry, music, trying new food and drink, deep conversation, and walks by the lake. I hope you’ll give me the chance to be your man. #1410 I’m a 58-y/o SWM seeking female 50 to 60 years old for companionship and fun! I enjoy hiking, biking, skiing, art and photography, good food and drink. Ideal F would be intelligent, compassionate, able to communicate. #L1409 59-y/o submissive GM. Looking for someone to enjoy times with. #L1403

HOW TO REPLY TO THESE LOVE LETTERS: Seal your reply — including your preferred contact info — inside an envelope. Write your penpal’s box number on the outside of that envelope and place it inside another envelope with payment. Responses for Love Letters must begin with the #L box number.

MAIL TO: Seven Days Love Letters

P.O. Box 1164, Burlington, VT 05402

PAYMENT: $5/response. Include cash or check

(made out to “Seven Days”) in the outer envelope. To send unlimited replies for only $15/month, call us at 802-865-1020, ext. 10 for a membership (credit accepted).

PUBLISH YOUR MESSAGE ON THIS PAGE!

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Submit your FREE message at sevendaysvt.com/loveletters or use the handy form at right.

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We’ll publish as many messages as we can in the Love Letters section above.

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Interested readers will send you letters in the mail. No internet required!

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SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

I’m a 61-y/o woman. Aquarian INFJ Reiki master looking to be part of or create a spiritual, artistic, self-sufficient community further south. Seeks kind, open-minded, gentle kindred spirits, lightworkers, starseeds to explore life’s mysteries and help each other.

Cat lovers very welcome! #L1406 I’m a GWM seeking GWM. Into everything except anal. Many interests including railroading and astrology. #L1405 Dirty old man seeks dirty old lady. Watching dirty movies.

Dirty in bed. Dirty minded. Love kissing and oral. Alone and single. Age/race, no problem. #1404 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

Reply to these messages with real, honest-to-goodness letters. DETAILS BELOW. 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 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

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 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 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. Goodlooking for my age. Want to find the man who will complete me.

Hope to hear from you! #L1394

Describe yourself and who you’re looking for in 40 words below:

Required confidential info:

(OR, ATTACH A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER.)

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THIS FORM IS FOR LOVE LETTERS ONLY. Messages for the Personals and I-Spy sections must be submitted online at dating.sevendaysvt.com.

ai159172970339_1t-hireup061020.pdf

1

6/9/20

3:08 PM

LOOKING FOR WORK? Meet the area’s top employers at:

Hire Up!

A Live Video Q&A Session FREE CLASSES — FALL REGISTRATION NOW OPEN Connecting Companies with Candidates PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED BY CALLING (802) 847-7222 OR

Considering new career path?

REGISTERINGaONLINE AT UVMHEALTH.ORG/MEDCENTERHEALTHSOURCE. Want to get back into the field love? — How We Can All Help Autism Spectrum Disorders in our you Community These sessions willH.help you explore your Presented

by Stephen Contompasis, MD, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician andaProfessor, University of Vermont College of Medicine; Daniel options from safe social distance.

Kula, Medical Student – Class of 2018, University of Vermont College of Medicine; Nicole Leblanc, Advocacy Director, Green Mountain Self-Advocates

During each 40-minute session recruiters This presentation will increase community awareness and understanding of will explain what jobs they have available Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Dr. Contompasis will provide an overview of and what they’re looking in an current understandings of ASD. for Mr. Kula will applicant. highlight the UVM College of Medicine efforts to increase or medical awareness and skills supporting You can ask questions juststudents’ listen in. individuals autism spectrum and their families. Most importantly, Attend onewith session or all —disorder, for free!

Ms. LeBlanc will share her expertise as an individual with ASD, her work as a self-advocate and provide specific information on how to support people with ASD in our communities capitalizing on their special skills and abilities.

WED., JUNE 24: HEALTH CARE JOBS

WHEN Thursday, October 15, 6 – 7:30 pm WHERE UVM Medical Center, Main Campus, Davis Auditorium

noon

Wake Robin

HealthSource education programs healthy lifestyle classes are offered by 1 p.m. UVM Medical Centerand EVS Community Health Improvement at The University of Vermont Medical Center.

2 p.m.

UVM Homeare Health Hospice Many of these programs FREE,& unless otherwise noted. Please note that directions provided upon registration.

FREE parking is available onsite for 3 p.m. are Community Health Center of Burlington all classes. Vermont Army National Guard Medical 4 p.m.

UVMHealth.org/MedCenterHealthsource

Future Hire Up! days will be added soon. See the website below for info.

Register for the free live video sessions at:

jobs.sevendaysvt.com/hire-up SEVEN DAYS JUNE 17-24, 2020

67

Thank You

The Simon’s family of convenience stores would like to send a heartfelt thank you to essential workers everywhere — nurses, firefighters, police, etc. — including our beloved Simon’s employees for all their hard work and dedication through this incredibly difficult time. Your resilience is inspiring.

We would like to thank the community at large, and our loyal customers for their patronage.

Your support is so appreciated.

Visit your favorite location when you can: Simon’s Chimney Corners • Simon’s College Parkway Simon’s Downtown Quick Stop • Simon’s Essex Store & Deli Simon’s Exit 16 Inc. • Simon’s Five Corners Simon’s Four Corners • Grace’s Store & Deli Gracey’s Liquor Store • Simon’s Milton Store Simon’s Montpelier Store • Simon’s Park Street Store Simon’s Plaza Store & Deli • Simon’s Route 2A Simon’s St. George • Simon’s Shelburne Rd Simon’s Waitsfield Store Simon’s Winooski Store

Simon’s is proud to be a part of the Vermont community since 1976.