Seven Days, August 12, 2020

AUGUST 2020 PARENTS FACE TOUGH CHOICES

THE BENEFITS OF LEARNING OUTSIDE

SONGS TO INSPIRE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE

ONE STEP at a TIME

HELPING DADS CONNECT AND SHARE

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

INSIDE! VE RMO NT ’S IN DEPE NDEN T VO IC E AUGUST 12-19, 2020 VOL.25 NO.46 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

August issue of Kids VT

OUTDOOR VOICE Montpelier endurance athlete and advocate Mirna Valerio is taking up space B Y C HEL S EA ED G A R , PA G E 38

PUFF PUFF PASS?

PAGE 12

Retail pot legislation has new life

THRILLA IN MONTPELIER

Zuckerman, Gray to top Dem ticket

PAGE 14

MOOR MEMOIR

PAGE 36

Parini recalls ride with Borges

Anniversary Sale We can’t believe it’s already been 5 years. We have throughly enjoyed serving your eyecare needs and look forward to helping new and current customers alike in the years ahead.

Markdowns up to 75% off Shop with us virtually every Wednesday & Saturday evening starting at 8PM EST! To celebrate....enjoy 25% OFF complete pair of prescription eyeglasses for the month of AUGUST

By appointment only, call to schedule not valid with special orders, insurance orders, previous purchases or neurolenses

Thank you for supporting local business so we can continue to be here to serve your needs.

102 Church Street | (802) 864-0414 www.expressionsvt.com 4t-expressions081220 1

Dora Sudarsky, O.D. 8/11/20 8:33 AM

Join us for our virtual shopping events Wine Wednesdays & Saturday Night Style Live starting at 8PM EST!

370 SHELBURNE ROAD BURLINGTON • 497-1676 CHROMAOPTICS.COM

4T-chroma072920.indd 1

7/28/20 11:16 AM

FOOD TRUCKS IN THE PARKS

THURSDAY - SUNDAY LEDDY, WATERFRONT & OAKLEDGE PARKS

ENJOYBURLINGTON.COM 2

Untitled-1 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

8/11/20 8:33 AM 4T-parks&rec072220 1

7/20/20 8:50 AM

GIN LANE SHOP & COCKTAILS TO-GO America’s Most Awarded Gin

O PEN DA I LY 2- 8 PM SHOP COCKTAILS, SEASONAL SYRUPS, SPIRITS, RAW HONEY & BARWARE OUTDOORS AT THE BARR HILL DISTILLERY

116 GIN LANE MONTPELIER, VT FOR MORE INFORMATION AND SAMPLE MENU VISIT

BARRHILL.COM

Untitled-6 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

3

5/27/20 11:31 AM

36TH ANNIVERSARY SALE STOREWIDE SAVINGS! SAVE UP TO 36%*OFF To celebrate we will be planting 360 Trees and supporting the American Elm Restoration Project through the Nature Conservancy

Join Your Local C O-op!

Be a part of a community-owned business committed to strengthening the local food system and increasing access for all community members!

Members Receive Great Benefits: Store discounts for volunteering in the community

Free reverse osmosis water

Discounts at over 100 local businesses

Vote for the Board of Directors

Plus! Vermonters who are eligible for our Food for All program receive extra savings!

Your Community-Owned Grocery Stores Downtown · South End · Burlington, Vermont www.citymarket.coop

R E A DY FO R ADV E N T UR E

Open a Carefree Checking account SM

at Community Bank and get a free gift.

Simply visit carefreeCBNA.com to get started.

Furniture | Lighting & Rugs | Interior Design

747 PINE STREET, BURLINGTON 862-5056 Mon-Sat 10–6, Sun 12-5 www.burlingtonfurniture.us

VOTED: BEST FURNITURE STORE 10 YEARS IN A ROW!

Bank rules and regulations apply. Minimum opening deposit is only $50.

Ask us for details.

Equal Housing Lender | Member FDIC

*MSRP

4

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

2v-burlingtonfurn081220.indd 1

8/10/20 3:43 PM

4t-NENPA(community bank)080520 1

7/29/20 10:48 AM

CBNA11541_475x556_Ckg_Ad, 4.75”w x 5.56”h, 4C FOR UNCOATED STOCK

emoji that

WEEK IN REVIEW AUGUST 5-12, 2020 COMPILED BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN, MATTHEW ROY & ANDREA SUOZZO FILE: ALICIA FREESE

A voter in Burlington’s Old North End

FIRST LECTURE

Three Norwich University students among the initial 500 back on campus have the coronavirus, the school said.

Testing, testing...

LAND HO!

VETO STANDS

Progressive city councilors in Burlington failed to override Mayor Miro Weinberger’s veto of a council-passed measure to hold a special election on ranked-choice voting in November.

The final tally in the wee hours of Tuesday morning was 7-5, one vote short of the eight needed to overturn the mayoral decision. Councilor Ali Dieng (I-Ward 7) joined all six Progressives in the effort, but it wasn’t enough to reach a two-thirds majority of the 12-member body.

Weinberger issued the veto, his first ever, last week, quashing a resolution the council had passed in July to hold the special election. In a one-page memo, the mayor wrote that it would be wasteful to spend $45,000 to print and mail local ballots in November when the question could be called on a Town Meeting Day ballot next March for free.

He repeated that stance Monday night.

“There’s a limit to what we can afford to take on in this environment,” Weinberger said, referring to how the coronavirus pandemic has squeezed city finances. He said the city must weigh the cost of special elections against “whether there’s a real reason to spend that money ... And in this case, because of COVID, the cost is especially high.”

802nice

COURTESY OF GREEN MOUNTAIN FIREWORKS

?? ? ?? ? ??

A 2019 Green Mountain Fireworks show

Councilor Jack Hanson (P-East District), a lead supporter of ranked-choice voting, decried the mayor’s response. “I don’t think stifling local democracy is a way to cut costs,” he said.

Dieng urged his colleagues to support putting the measure to a vote despite their personal misgivings about the voting system. Several people who called in to the council’s Zoom meeting described the mayor’s veto as “undemocratic.”

Also known as instant runoff, ranked-choice voting lets voters choose candidates in order of preference.

Burlington’s resolution states that a candidate who earns a majority of the vote wins, but if none does, the election goes to a runoff. In each round, the person with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those losing votes are reassigned to the voter’s second-choice candidate. The process continues until only two candidates remain. The one with more votes wins. Burlington’s current system only requires that a candidate have a 40 percent majority to be victorious.

Read reporter Courtney Lamdin’s full story at sevendaysvt.com.

More and more boaters have recently hit bottom in Lake Champlain due to low water levels, according to WCAX-TV. Fathom that.

URBAN EXODUS?

New UVM research found that young employed people are moving to the state, VTDigger. org reported. The great pandemic migration.

MYSTERY SOLVED

The man suspected of vandalizing a Black Lives Matter mural in front of the Statehouse died in a car crash on July 1. Case closed.

103,957 That’s how many people in Vermont had been tested for COVID-19 as of Tuesday.

About 1,472 of those tested positive for the virus.

TOPFIVE

MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON SEVENDAYSVT.COM

1. “I’m in a Polyamorous Triad With My Husband and His Girlfriend” by Ask the Reverend. Our advice columnist has reservations about a reader financially supporting her husband’s girlfriend.

2. “Vermont Schools Face Shortage of Teachers for In-Person Learning” by Alison Novak.

Education leaders from around the state say staffing is a major concern.

3. “Burlington Zoning Rules Delay Plans to Demolish Downtown Motel” by Courtney Lamdin. Plans to demolish the Midtown Motel at Main and Winooski streets could run afoul of zoning rules.

4. “Winooski House Candidate in Hot Water After DUI Arrest” by Kevin McCallum. Jordan Matte was one of three candidates for the twoseat House district when he was arrested.

5. “Vergennes’ Mayor Resigned Over Text Messages — Then Most of the City Council Bailed” by Colin Flanders. Long-simmering disagreements over the city’s police department erupted in mid-July.

tweet of the week @AliceFromQueens VERMONT PRO-TIP When harvesting blackberries it is important to wear pants.

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

WHAT’S KIND IN VERMONT

BABY BOOM An effort to build a new childcare center in Grand Isle County will receive a little boost next month thanks to a local fireworks company.

On September 5, Green Mountain Fireworks will host a drive-in pyro-musical — a fireworks show set to tunes — in a large field off Route 2 in Alburgh. The explosive event will benefit the Alburgh Family Clubhouse, a nonprofit aiming to construct a new center for up to 40 kids on the campus of the town’s K-8 school, the Alburgh Community Education Center.

The clubhouse has secured $785,000 in grants to date. But before the group can re-

ceive those funds, it must find a way to cover the rest of the anticipated $1 million cost.

That’s a monumental task in a town of about 2,000 people, said Gina Lewis, vice president of the nonprofit’s board.

By contrast, the local library, which Lewis directs, runs an annual budget of just $15,000.

Though the show’s tickets aren’t cheap — $100 per vehicle — the first $10,000 raised would go directly to the clubhouse; any further profits would be split evenly with the fireworks company. If organizers can meet their initial goal of selling 200 tickets, it would bring in $15,000 toward the center’s construction, “which would be huge for us,” Lewis said.

While Green Mountain Fireworks owner

Matthew Lavigne hopes to recoup some of his anticipated $70,000 in costs, he said his main goal is to help out the community. He recently learned about the clubhouse while struggling to find childcare for his 2-year-old.

“As a business, we really try to give back,” he said.

There is one other motivation: that of the artist. Lavigne designed both the fireworks and the coinciding musical score, which will be broadcast through an FM radio signal so that attendees can listen in their cars.

“Pyro-musicals are mostly just something industry professionals do for other industry professionals,” Lavigne said. “I don’t think any show like this has ever been done in Vermont.”

COLIN FLANDERS SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

5

VERY ACTIVELY PURCHASING • Antique, Vintage and Modern Jewelry • Platinum, Gold, Silver, Diamonds and Precious Stones • Sterling Silver Flatware and Hollowware • Gold and Silver Coins • Watches Certified Precious Metal Dealer State of Vermont Dealers Cert # 0028

� Call of an appointment with the owner �

91 Main Street, Stowe Village - 802.253.3033 Stowe@Ferrojewelers.com - Ferrojewelers.com/Stowe 6h-ferro081220.indd 1

8/5/20 11:38 AM

SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE. / Pamela Polston, Paula Routly  Paula Routly   Cathy Resmer  

Don Eggert, Pamela Polston, Colby Roberts

NEWS & POLITICS  Matthew Roy   Sasha Goldstein   Candace Page   Derek Brouwer, Colin Flanders,

Paul Heintz, Courtney Lamdin, Kevin McCallum

ARTS & LIFE  Pamela Polston   Margot Harrison   Dan Bolles, Elizabeth M. Seyler   Jordan Adams   Kristen Ravin    Carolyn Fox   Jordan Barry, Chelsea Edgar,

Margaret Grayson, Melissa Pasanen, Ken Picard, Sally Pollak  Carolyn Fox, Elizabeth M. Seyler   Katherine Isaacs, Marisa Keller D I G I TA L & V I D E O   Andrea Suozzo    Bryan Parmelee    Eva Sollberger   James Buck DESIGN   Don Eggert   Rev. Diane Sullivan   John James  Jeff Baron, Kirsten Thompson SALES & MARKETING    Colby Roberts    Michael Bradshaw   Robyn Birgisson,

Michelle Brown, Logan Pintka

 &   Corey Grenier  &   Katie Hodges A D M I N I S T R AT I O N   Marcy Carton    Matt Weiner   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 C I R C U L AT I O N : 3 5 , 0 0 0 Seven Days is published by Da Capo Publishing Inc. every Wednesday. It is distributed free of charge in greater Burlington, Middlebury, Montpelier, Northeast Kingdom, Stowe, the Mad River Valley, Rutland, St. Albans, St. Johnsbury, White River Junction and Plattsburgh, N.Y.

Exhilarating in every way, including the price.

Seven Days is printed at Quebecor Media Printing in Laval, Québec.

The 2016 GLA, starting at just $32,500. The GLA delivers thrills from the moment you hit the ignition button.

A racing-inspired dual-clutch transmission makes for smoother shifting, while its advanced engineering delivers breathtaking SUV performance no matter what road you’re on. All that inside of a sleek, muscular design makes the 2016 GLA one extraordinary vehicle—for an equally extraordinary price. MBUSA.com/GLA

STARTING AT THE 2016 $ * GLALEASE AND FINANCE SPECIAL OFFERS WILL BE THROUGH The Automaster BMW FINANCIAL SERVICES. 32,500 The Automaster SPECIAL LEASE AND FINANCE OFFERS WILL BE THROUGH The Automaster BMW FINANCIAL SERVICES. 3328 Shelburne Road Shelburne, VT 05482 ©2020 BMW of North America, LLC. The BMW name, model names and logo are registered trademarks. croberts802-985-8411 www.theautomaster.com The Automaster

3328 Shelburne Road Shelburne, VT 05482 croberts802-985-8411 3328 Shelburne 05482-6849 www.theautomaster.com 3328 ShelburneRd. Rd.| Shelburne, | Shelburne, Vermont Vermont 05482-6849

DELIVERY TECHNICIANS Harry Applegate, Monica Ashworth, Jeff Baron, Joe Bouffard, Pat Bouffard, Colin Clary, Elana Coppola-Dyer, Donna Delmoora, Kirk Flanagan, Matt Hagen, Nat Michael, Bill Mullins, Dan Nesbitt, Dan Thayer With additional circulation support from PP&D. SUBSCRIPTIONS 6- 1 : $175. 1- 1 : $275.

6- 3 : $85. 1- 3 : $135.

Please call 802-864-5684 with your credit card, or mail your check or money order to “Subscriptions” at the address below.

Seven Days shall not be held liable to any advertiser for any loss that results from the incorrect publication of its advertisement. If a mistake is ours, and the advertising purpose has been rendered valueless, Seven Days may cancel the charges for the advertisement, or a portion thereof as deemed reasonable by the publisher. Seven Days reserves the right to refuse any advertising, including inserts, at the discretion of the publishers.

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

P.O. BOX 1164, BURLINGTON, VT 05402-1164 802-864-5684 SEVENDAYSVT.COM @SEVENDAYSVT

802.985.8482 | TheAutomasterMercedesBenz.com 802.985.8482 | TheAutomasterBMW.com 2016 GLA250 shown in Polar Silver metallic paint with optional equipment. *MSRP excludes all options, taxes, title, registration, transportation charge and dealer prep. Options, model availability and actual dealer price may vary. See dealer for details. ©2015 Authorized Mercedes-Benz Dealers For more information, call 1-800-FOR-MERCEDES, or visit MBUSA.com.

2020 X3 shown in Phytonic Blue designo paint with optional equipment. *MSRP excludes all options, taxes, title, registration, transportation charge and dealer prep. Options, model availability and actual dealer price may vary. See dealer for details.

6

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

3v-AutomasterBMW081220.indd 1

8/7/20 2:13 PM

©2020 Da Capo Publishing Inc. All rights reserved.

FEEDback READER REACTION TO RECENT ARTICLES

‘RIP, GORDON’

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the wellresearched and honest article about the late Vermont musician Gordon Stone [“Legacy Edition,” August 5]. I met Gordon many years ago when he performed as a member of Pine Island.

He was a very nice guy and an incredible musician.

Gordon’s struggle with alcoholism certainly makes him no less a hero to many. It sounds like he had some extended lengths of sobriety, which show he worked hard to make himself a better person.

I’ve been lucky in my life as it relates to challenges with alcohol. My 37 years of continuous sobriety are a miracle, but they came with a lot of help from others.

Gordon certainly fought demons in his life but still provided many of us with incredible music. We are better for having crossed paths with a true musical genius. RIP, Gordon.

Rich Feeley

COLCHESTER

DOCTOR YES

Thanks to Seven Days and Paula Routly for the fine article on Dr. Mark Levine [“Vermont’s Dr. Fauci,” July 29]. Dr. Levine is one of Vermont’s finest, and Paula’s rendering of his excellence reminded me, once again, of why I moved to Vermont.

Following Gov. Phil Scott’s news conferences during this pandemic, Dr. Levine’s accessibility at the podium and his patient and professional responses informed without frightening or polemicizing in any way. He was a pleasure to listen to, along with being the very best representative for helping the public to understand what we are facing.

With clarity and context, and her own personal experiences as an extra bonus of reassurance that she is in touch with her source, Paula in her article tells us how lucky we are to have this man as our representative and caregiver.

Thanks for a great newspaper.

Winifred McCarthy

BURLINGTON

WEEK IN REVIEW

easy decision as journalists. But, as a reader, I will tell you it’s long overdue.

The comments tend to be from a small subculture around a given area of interest. They typically start out thoughtfully enough but then quickly devolve into acrid, vitriolic and fact-free rants. Not too long ago, comments were generally from well-meaning people to support, question or retort a topic. Now it’s just the same small band of uninformed lunatic fringe conspiracy theorists with no command of the facts who lack any semblance of decency. And as we enter into what will no doubt be a heated election year, it will only get worse.

TIM NEWCOMB

Dan Galdenzi

STOWE

HOMELESS ARE GOOD NEIGHBORS

HIRE CARRERA

SHELBURNE

NO COMMENT?

[Re Feedback: “Seven Days Suspends F IL E: Online Comments Until Further LU Notice,” April 8]: I just want to say I think it’s highly irresponsible and dangerous not to allow public comments on your site. It is vital that locals be able to share their insights and experiences with one another, even if that can open the door to controversy. There are millions of moderators on Facebook and Reddit that do so for free, voluntarily.

Surely that sort of grassroots effort can be tapped in order to reopen public comments? This should absolutely be fixed! It’s so frustrating to me that this is prohibited. It is such a vital part of readership and understanding the issues reported about.

At the very least, perhaps run a public poll with transparent results to ask how readers feel about this.

TR

Y

Last week’s story “Onion City Unity” left out one of the organizers of the Winooski Strong initiative. Downtown Winooski helped organize the effort.

“Fair Market” contained a quote that misstated the goals of DegrowBTV. The group aims to challenge narratives that reinforce injustice and oppression.

Hope Johnson

AW

CORRECTIONS

share in the creation of a mural that unites us all and will surely bring smiles to those who view it. This time, too, pay Carrera for her time and work.

KE

With interest I read the article “Change of Art,” [July 29], in which the future of the mural wall space on Church Street is being debated, as well as the ownership and control of public art.

Artist Gina Carrera envisions an inclusive future replacement mural, and I think she needs to look no further than her remarks on her own experience when she told how, while painting the rain forest scene in 1992, “Little kids would pull on my shirt and ask if they could hold the paintbrush.”

It sounds like Gina Carrera Carrera has the fortitude, creativity and experience to collaborate and manage a group mural with children from Burlington. Rather than continue on a wasteful course of legal wrangling and politicized content, let the children of Burlington

Cecelia Dooley

BURLINGTON

TROLL-FREE

[Re Feedback: “Seven Days Suspends Online Comments Until Further Notice,” April 8]: I imagine that this was not an

[Re Off Message: “Burlington Wants to House Homeless in Shipping Containers on Sears Lane,” July 15]: I’m a Lakeside resident and became aware of the political forum being held at Lakeside Park on July 15 after receiving a flyer on my door three days prior. The vague “law and order” wording and impromptu nature of the meeting described in the flyer raised a number of alarms, which led a group of concerned community members to investigate. We began by visiting our neighbors on Sears Lane the next day to find out if they knew they were the target of the meeting.

The residents — who were uniformly warm and welcoming — informed us that there had been no outreach. We later learned that no outreach was planned, either.

Despite the anonymous speculations and vile comments made by people eager to publicly disparage their neighbors while at the same time unwilling to subject their vitriol to the same public scrutiny, I have never heard or seen anything that would cause concern.

Neither had any neighbor I spoke to.

FEEDBACK

» P.21

SAY SOMETHING!

Seven Days wants to publish your rants and raves.

Your feedback must...

• be 250 words or fewer; • respond to Seven Days content; • include your full name, town and a daytime phone number.

Seven Days reserves the right to edit for accuracy, length and readability.

Your submission options include: • sevendaysvt.com/feedback • feedback@sevendaysvt.com • Seven Days, P.O. Box 1164, Burlington, VT 05402-1164

SHOP OUR SALES LISTS SCAN CODE

CLOSEOUTS Vega One Org. All-in-One Protein Powder with Reishi Extract 12.7oz Spiced Chai On Sale $14.99 Wild Harvest Org. Vanilla Sandwich Cookies 12oz On Sale $2.99 Golden Home Ultra Thin Pizza Crusts 8.75oz (5 Crusts) On Sale $2.99

COW Coombe Castle Red Lion Mustard Ale Cheddar Reg $18.99/lb Sale $9.99/lb Save $9/lb!

Gold Provolone Reg $15.99/lb Sale $5.99/lb Save $10/lb!

Cambozola Black Label Reg $25.99/lb Sale $8.99/lb Save $17/lb!

ROSÉ MONTH Philippe Viallet Savoie Rosé Vin de Savoie 2019 Only $14.99 Jean-Luc Colombo Méditerranée Cape Bleue Rosé 2019 Only $12.99 Domaines Paul Mas Côté Mas Rosé 2019 Only $9.99

1186 Williston Rd. So. Burlington, VT 05403 (Next to the Alpine Shop) Open 7 days 10am-7pm • 802.863.0143 cheeseandwinetraders.com SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020 4v-cheesetraders081220.indd 1

7 8/10/20 12:48 PM

Today, Vermont leads the nation in safely managing the pandemic, but remember the beginning when no one knew how great the dangers were or where they lurked?

The memories are more vivid for those who drove through empty streets, morning after morning, to get food to Vermonters who might not have any otherwise, and others who made sure folks had a roof over their head at night.

They are the people who showed up every day, and they’re a big part of why we are where we are today.

Some of us could work from home – some couldn’t. We want to honor those who could not. We want them to know they are elevated in our hearts because of the sacrifice they made. And continue to make.

They’ve earned a special place within the community that is CVOEO, and we wanted everyone to know.

PHOTOS: ANDY DUBACK AND ROBERT OSTERMEYER

8

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

1t-CVOEO081220.indd 1

cvoeo.org 8/11/20 3:02 PM

contents AUGUST 12-19, 2020 VOL.25 NO.46

FOOD

Safe Servings The health department’s Elisabeth Wirsing on minimizing coronavirus risk at restaurants

44

OUTDOOR VOICE

PAGE 44

COLUMNS

SECTIONS

30 45 50 52 77

23 44 50 53 55

Bottom Line Side Dishes Soundbites Album Reviews Ask the Reverend

Life Lines Food + Drink Music + Nightlife Classes Classifieds + Puzzles 72 Fun Stuff 76 Personals

Uncommon Meal Craftsbury General Store serves global fare

PAGE 46

STUCK IN VERMONT

Montpelier endurance athlete and advocate Mirna Valerio is taking up space

Online Now

B Y C H E L S E A E D G AR, PAG E 3 8

COVER IMAGE JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR • COVER DESIGN REV. DIANE SULLIVAN

NEWS & POLITICS 11 From the Publisher Pot’s Shot?

Lawmakers hope to take up retail weed bill before session’s close

32

26

Making Noise

Neighbors enlist sound experts, lawyers to fight Burton’s concert venue

ARTS NEWS 24

FEATURES 32

Primary Colors

Size Matters

At the Shelburne Museum, Peter Kirkiles’ sculptures subvert expectations

The ‘Upper’ Hand

Weaving Together

Runaway Mom

Zuckerman to face Scott in governor’s race; Gray upsets Ashe for LG nomination

What Happens in Mississippi...

A COVID-19 outbreak prompts scrutiny of Vermont’s private prison contract

Mask makers respond to the pandemic with cloth art

The Bait Untaken

Couch Cinema: The Goldfinch

Vermonting: Getting down with baking and books, Turkish treats and taxidermy Books: Makenna Goodman discusses her debut novel about working the land, social media and more

The pandemic forced Bruce Gonyaw to shut SUPPORTED BY: down a summer camp at his 200-acre horse farm in Brownington, but it’s also driving a demand for equine companions. Buyers travel for hours to purchase horses from Bruce, who also organizes trail rides and cowboy weekends.

We have

Find a new job in the classifieds section on page 62 and online at sevendaysvt.com/jobs.

Strange as Fiction

Books: Jay Parini takes readers on a true ride in Borges and Me

Let us service you!

Jewelry & Gifts shelburnebay plaza 2989 shelburne rd • 985.9909 alittlesomethingvt.com

$8.00 OFF

next to the Shelburne Meat Market

WE SE RVICE A COND IR ITIONIN G!

17 pt. Super-Service Oil Change

1691 Shelburne Rd., S. Burlington 951-0290 | Susie Wilson Rd., Essex Junction 879-2707 Expires 9/23/20 7days 8H-alittlesomething061720.indd 1

6/15/20 12:42 PM

8H-oilngo081220.indd 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

9

8/7/20 1:08 PM

FAR AWAY VIBES WITHOUT THE FAR AWAY DRIVE.

You don’t have to travel far to get away from it all.

Just head to Basin Harbor and enjoy a little more summer while it lasts.

Vermonter rates from $149/night for September and October.

To book, visit basinharbor.com/vt

10

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Seven Days has been writing about Vermont politics — with color, verve and insight — since columnist Peter Freyne joined our team in the fall of 1995, seven issues into our publishing life. His first “Inside Track” for the paper combined a takedown of side judge and “political spin doctor” Althea Kroger with an update on South Burlington’s ongoing efforts to shut down a strip club on Williston Road.

“In the interest of protecting their city from moral decay, the council has required the Club’s female talent to stay at least four feet away from the patrons while performing,” Freyne wrote of the erstwhile Club Fantasy, noting how the “city will have to equip each member of the South Burlington Police Department with a tape measure.” The kicker: “Duty calls.”

Peter Freyne Freyne wrote about politics in a way that made it understandable and entertaining. Though it wasn’t always fun for the people he skewered, lawmakers in particular converged on the Statehouse lounge every Wednesday, when the weekly paper was delivered, to see if they’d made it into his column. In interviews and press conferences, he asked the questions no other reporter would. Even U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, with whom Freyne had a complicated relationship, found kind words for him when he died on January 7, 2009.

Truth is: Many of Freyne’s columns would not have passed muster with our current team of news editors. Over the years Seven Days’ political coverage has become increasingly rigorous and thorough, in the hands of Shay Totten and then Andy Bromage. Paul Heintz’s first cover story was a smart, even-handed analysis of Burlington’s 2012 mayoral race among Kurt Wright, Miro Weinberger and Wanda Hines; more recently, he delivered an in-depth, remarkably suspenseful look at how Gov. Phil Scott handled the first weeks of the coronavirus pandemic. In the years between, he traveled all over the country covering Sanders’ historic, back-to-back presidential runs.

Paul Heintz in Iowa covering Bernie When the Burlington Free Press reassigned its two veteran Statehouse reporters at the end of 2014, Seven Days hired both Nancy Remsen and Terri Hallenbeck. We’ve maintained two to three reporters in Montpelier since. Their coverage — tracking trends, calling out characters, watchdogging government — keeps readers informed about what’s happening with their tax dollars under the golden dome.

For the last three years, I’ve been just another one of those readers. When my domestic partner, Tim Ashe, became Senate president pro tempore in 2017, our leadership team consulted media ethicists and journalism professors about how to handle the potential conflict of interest.

They recommended that I abstain from involvement in our Statehouse and political coverage — no brainstorming, no assigning stories or artwork, no editing, no proofreading — a maddening challenge for a hands-on editor, publisher and business owner, but a necessary one. They also advised that we be transparent, hence the disclosure in our masthead and at the end of stories involving Tim. Editors Matthew Roy and Candace Page and writer Heintz have bravely and capably steered us through this very tricky terrain. I’m immensely grateful for their guidance.

The Québec firm that prints Seven Days also deserves a shout-out. On election nights — like the one this week — the press crew patiently holds off as long as possible so our news team can Want to help Seven Days through report Tuesday night results. They’ve burned the pandemic? Become a Super Reader. plenty of midnight oil accommodating our Look for the “Give Now” buttons at the top of late-breaking news. sevendaysvt.com. Or send a check with your This election edition was a little different. address and contact info to: Like every issue of Seven Days for the past fourSEVEN DAYS, C/O SUPER READERS plus months, it was assembled remotely. That P.O. BOX 1164 means no pizza, post-deadline beers or piles of BURLINGTON, VT 05402-1164 cold crusts in cardboard boxes to clean up the For more information on making a financial morning after. contribution to Seven Days, please contact Democracy is messy. As long as it works...

Corey Grenier:

Paula Routly

FILE: MATTHE W THORSEN

From Peter Freyne to the Pandemic

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

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

11

news

MORE INSIDE

UVM STICKS WITH COVID-19 PLAN PAGE 16

ELECTION 2020

WINOOSKI’S BIG LOAN

Klar Files to Run for Governor as an Independent

MISSISSIPPI OUTBREAK

PAGE 17

PAGE 19

B Y PAU L H EIN T Z

LUKE EASTMAN

Pot’s Shot?

Lawmakers hope to take up retail weed bill before session’s close B Y C O LI N FL A N D ER S

T

he Vermont legislature came within arm’s reach of legalizing cannabis sales this spring. Both the House and Senate passed versions of a bill that would set up a retail system, and longskeptical Gov. Phil Scott appeared willing to at least consider whatever legislation landed on his desk.

But before lawmakers could finalize their proposal, the coronavirus pandemic hit. Suddenly faced with a tumbling economy, surging unemployment and allocating a billion-dollar relief package, top lawmakers said they had little time to wade into the weeds of a retail cannabis market. Pot became an afterthought.

Months later, ahead of a brief remote budget session, Democratic leaders are facing renewed pressure from advocates and members of their own party to finish what they started. Some believe a retail cannabis market could be a cornerstone of Vermont’s economic recovery efforts.

“The reasons for [setting up the market] have only gotten stronger,” said Matt Simon, a registered lobbyist and the New England political director of the advocacy 12

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

group Marijuana Policy Project. “There is a need to get jobs and tax revenue right away. There should be a sense of urgency to do this.”

Vermont’s pursuit of a retail weed market has been anything but urgent to date. Though the Senate repeatedly passed tax-and-regulate bills before this year, the legislation always died in the House.

In 2018, when Vermont became the first state in the nation to legalize the possession and cultivation of weed through legislative action, lawmakers again chose not to establish a legal way for people to purchase the drug. Critics say that has led to the worst-case scenario: an empowered black market untouched by regulation or taxes.

S.54, the latest bill intended to change that, finally cleared the House in late February. But before lawmakers can send it to the governor, they need to reconcile the differences between their versions. A failure to do so before the budget session ends would force lawmakers to restart the process next year.

In March, the House and Senate each

appointed three members to a conference committee, whose job it is to hash out a compromise. Since the bill originated in the Senate, the House must schedule the committee’s first meeting, according to Sen. Dick Sears (D-Bennington), who was appointed to the panel.

But when Sears asked for a sit-down before the legislature went on a twomonth break in late June, he said, he was told that the House negotiating team could not get approval from Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero).

Sears had still not heard from his House counterparts as of last week. “We’re still arguing about the size of the table,” he said in jest.

Johnson told Seven Days that she and Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) agreed back in the spring not to take up the weed bill again until late summer. She said Sears’ request amounted to an “internal” miscommunication with Senate leadership.

“It was always part of the plan to figure POT’S SHOT?

» P.16

Even though he lost his race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination on Tuesday, Brookfield farmer and attorney John Klar may still wind up on the general election ballot — and serve as a spoiler to GOP Gov. Phil Scott.

Klar and the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office confirmed on Monday that he filed paperwork last week to run for governor this fall as an independent. VTDigger.org first reported the news.

Klar said he has not yet decided whether to pursue an independent bid but wanted to retain the right to do so. Independents are required by law to file for public office prior to the primary election. They may withdraw from the race and remove their names from the ballot up to 10 days after the primary.

“No decision has been made,” Klar said.

A conservative Republican, Klar has criticized Scott for supporting gun-control measures, signing a bill codifying the right to an abortion and restricting Vermonters’ rights during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Klar said that John Klar one reason to remain in the race would be to support a slate of conservative candidates for the state House and Senate who have aligned themselves with his candidacy.

“We’re stirring it up because some of us are a little unhappy with the way Phil Scott and the GOP have been operating for the past few years,” he said.

Klar noted that, in a May 22 email he sent Scott and later made public, he raised the possibility of running as an independent if the governor refused to debate him at least three times. “I don’t wish to have public rancor within the GOP more than necessary, and this includes challenging you to a series of debates to address the issues and your record,” Klar wrote. “However, if you refuse to agree to this single term, why should I not simply run as an Independent?”

In the same email, though, Klar pledged to stand behind the Republican nominee. “If I lose the GOP primary, I will support you fully through November,” he wrote.

Scott did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Contact: paul@sevendaysvt.com

Making Noise Neighbors enlist sound experts, lawyers to fight Burton’s concert venue

BY C OURT NEY L AMDIN

Q

ueen City Park is the kind of place handful of times to create goodwill. “We where people know their neigh- want to make sure we do this responsibors. The densely settled cove bly,” Worthley said. on South Burlington’s northern edge is But project opponents aren’t feeling a collection of winding, dead-end streets the love. For more than an hour at last with views of Shelburne week’s Development Bay. There are no sideReview Board meeting in walks, so neighbors stand Burlington, they argued in the street to chat. They that Burton’s studies are wave at passing cars and notice if they flawed. They urged the board to consider aren’t from around here. a scaled-down venue, saying what’s Despite its proximity, the insular good for business isn’t always good for community feels a world away from neighbors. bustling Burlington, and the residents “I get that Burlington needs to be a want to keep it that way. So when they really vibrant, exciting place and we need learned that the state’s largest music to grow and thrive,” project opponent venue could set up shop across the street Laurie Smith said, “but there are approfrom their neighborhood’s entrance, they priate ways to do it.” prepared to fight.

Before last summer, music venues For the last 18 months, their group, Citi- weren’t allowed to operate where Higher zens for Responsible Zoning, has battled Ground is now proposed. City zoning Burton Snowboards over confined performing arts the company’s plans to venues in the South End bring Higher Ground to to Pine Street and capped an unused warehouse on them at 5,000 square feet.

Queen City Park Road, In June of 2019, however, just a few feet inside the the Burlington City CounBurlington city line. Plans cil voted to allow venues for the entertainment hub of up to 15,000 square feet include the concert hall, in the entire Enterprise a food court and factory Light-Manufacturing LES BLOMBERG tours, plus the reborn district, an area primarTalent Skatepark, which opened earlier ily west of Pine from Kilburn Street to this year. Burton and its supporters say Queen City Park Road, the site of Burton’s the campus will be a “cultural touchstone” headquarters. that fits in well with the South End arts The day after the vote, South Burlscene. ington City Council vice chair Meaghan “We just think it’s going to be amaz- Emery wrote a letter scolding Burlington ing,” Justin Worthley, Burton’s senior vice councilors for not considering nearby president of global human resources, told residents. She sent them a petition signed Seven Days last month. “This is something by 75 people who opposed the change; that will be on the short list for people to they would later form the Citizens for do in Burlington.”

Responsible Zoning. Today, the group’s Neighbors in Queen City Park and 100 members, split nearly equally on Burlington streets near the Burton between Burlington and South Burlingcomplex have been a tougher sell. They ton residents, have raised thousands of worry that Higher Ground, which hosts dollars to fight the project. loud concerts in a variety of music genres The group has already delayed at its current South Burlington location Burton’s plans. Last November, Burlin a commercial area of Williston Road, ington issued the company a permit for will attract raucous young people to their stormwater and parking improvements, peaceful community. Burton says the which Burton said were unrelated to the studies it commissioned show the project hub proposal. The neighbors appealed, won’t be a nuisance and the company’s unsuccessfully, to Burlington’s Develdetailed plans for handling postconcert opment Review Board, then took the crowds will ensure an orderly exit.

MAKING NOISE » P.18 They’ve met with the opponents a

DEVELOPMENT

THEY WILL NOT FILE OUT LIKE MONKS

Stay healthy at the Y • Increased disinfecting and sanitizing, day and night • Masks required at all times (except in pools) • Lap lanes by reservation • Not just a gym . . . find community here

gbymca.org 6h-YMCA081220 1

8/10/20 8:45 AM

187 Main Street, Colchester, VT OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK www.claussens.com 802-878-2361 M P

Gift Shop |

6” Perennials | 12 for $100

8” Perennials |

20% OFF

FOLLOWING EVENING PRAYERS.

3” Succulents |

5 for $15

Ficus |

$2.00 OFF

$10 OFF

Coupon must be present at the time of purchase. Coupons valid thru 08/25/20

3v-claussens081220.indd 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

13

8/7/20 5:02 PM

news

Primary Colors

Zuckerman to face Scott in governor’s race; Gray upsets Ashe for LG nomination

2020

ELECTION

14

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

Molly Gray

David Zuckerman speaking on election night at his farm in Hinesburg

ASHE’S LOSS REPRESENTS A STRIKING DEFEAT

JAMES BUCK

L

t. Gov. David Zuckerman, a veteran Progressive politician, claimed Vermont’s Democratic gubernatorial nomination on Tuesday, besting former education secretary Rebecca Holcombe.

In this fall’s general election, he’ll take on two-term Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who easily outdistanced conservative challenger John Klar and three others to win the GOP nomination.

In the upset of the evening, first-time candidate Molly Gray defeated Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/PChittenden), Sen. Debbie Ingram (D-Chittenden) and activist Brenda Siegel to win the Democratic nomination for the open lieutenant governor’s seat. Scott Milne, a former GOP nominee for governor and the U.S. Senate, prevailed over Meg Hansen and three others for the Republican nomination for LG. As Seven Days went to press Tuesday night, Vermont appeared on track to set a new record for turnout in a state primary.

Even before Election Day, according to the Secretary of State’s Office, more than 110,000 people had cast ballots — taking advantage of a new early voting system prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Early results suggested that more than 160,000 Vermonters voted this time around, well more than the recent record of 122,437 set in the 2000 primary.

With 262 of 275 precincts reporting late on Tuesday, Zuckerman had picked up 45 percent of the vote, Holcombe 34 percent, Bennington attorney Pat Winburn 7 percent and Wallingford activist Ralph Corbo 1 percent.

“Our strong victory tonight is a signal of things to come,” Zuckerman told campaign staffers and volunteers at his organic farm in Hinesburg. Running for office during a pandemic was “a completely different animal” because so many voters are “hunkered down,” he said. “We need to be creative to find ways to reach them because those are the folks who are really hurting right now. We need to build a state so that they are not put in a position like this.”

Early results showed Scott leading Klar 72 percent to 22 percent. In a brief video filmed at a campaign office, the incumbent governor highlighted his work leading the state through the pandemic, saying he was focused on the health and safety of Vermonters. “I’ll do my very best to provide you with a steady hand on the

JAMES BUCK

B Y PAUL HEI N TZ

FOR THE SIX-TERM STATE SENATOR AND FORMER BURLINGTON CITY COUNCILOR.

Taylor Small and supporters at the Winooski Senior Center

wheel as we navigate these unprecedented times and work tirelessly to emerge stronger as a state,” Scott said.

The governor may not have seen the last of Klar, who filed last week to run as an independent candidate in this fall’s gubernatorial election.

In the race for lieutenant governor, Gray was leading Ashe 44 percent to 33 percent late on Tuesday. Ingram and Siegel each had close to 9 percent of the vote.

Ashe’s loss represents a striking defeat

for the six-term state senator and former Burlington city councilor, who gave up a powerful perch and a safe seat to run for LG. The result positions 36-year-old Gray, an assistant attorney general from Burlington, for a bright future in Vermont politics.

“I entered this race because now is the time for the next generation of Vermont leaders to step forward and to ensure that rural communities have a strong voice in Montpelier,” Gray said. “As a first-time candidate, I am beyond humbled by the

support for our campaign. Together we built a campaign that brought new voices into politics and that worked to unite our state around a bold vision for a brighter future.”

Milne, a travel agency executive from Pomfret, had claimed 47 percent of the vote Tuesday night, compared to Hansen’s 30 percent.

“This election is about who is the best candidate to be a trusted partner to Governor Scott in getting our economy back on track and putting people back to work,” Milne said, noting that his own business had been “profoundly impacted” by the coronavirus. “I look forward to putting my three decades of experience growing a small business to work helping Governor Scott reopen our economy safely and responsibly so Vermonters can look forward to a brighter, more prosperous future.”

Also on Tuesday night, four-term state Auditor Doug Hoffer, a Democrat and Progressive, fended off a Democratic

(D-Chittenden) and Phil Baruth (D-Chittenden) appeared safe. At press time, Sen. Chris Pearson (D/P-Chittenden) and June Heston were running neck and neck for the sixth spot on the Democratic ballot.

There were several competitive races to represent Chittenden County in the Vermont House. Former Burlington city councilor and Vermont Progressive Party chair Emma Mulvaney-Stanak defeated incumbent Rep. Jean O’Sullivan (D-Burlington) in one Queen City district. Rep. Bill Lippert (D-Hinesburg), who has served in the House for 26 years, won a race against his first-ever primary challenger, Christina Deeley.

Newcomers Tiff Bluemle and Gabrielle Stebbins prevailed in a South End district currently represented by Reps. Mary Sullivan (D-Burlington) and Johanna “Joey” Leddy Donovan (D-Burlington), who are both retiring. And Taylor Small joined

JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

JAMES BUCK

primary challenge from Rep. Linda Joy Sullivan (D-Dorset). And in the race to represent Vermont in the U.S. House, seven-term Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) easily defeated Corbo, the Wallingford activist, to claim the Democratic nomination.

Republican Miriam Berry of Essex came out ahead of three other GOP candidates and will take on Welch in November.

None of Vermont’s other three statewide officeholders up for reelection this year — Treasurer Beth Pearce, Secretary of State Jim Condos or Attorney General T.J. Donovan — had competition in their respective Democratic primaries.

Pearce, however, will face former Republican state senator Carolyn Branagan in the general election. Perennial candidate H. Brooke Paige won the Republican nomination for secretary of state and was leading fellow perennial Emily Peyton for the GOP nomination for attorney general.

Voting at Edmunds Elementary School in Burlington

QUIET POLLING PLACES BELIE HISTORIC PRIMARY TURNOUT

Hand counting ballots in Woodbury

Cris Ericson, another perennial candidate, appeared on track to win the Progressive nomination for lieutenant governor, auditor, treasurer, secretary of state and attorney general. It was not immediately clear on Tuesday night whether she also won the party’s gubernatorial nomination. Zuckerman was hoping to claim the Progressive nod as a write-in candidate, and Boots Wardinski was also on the ballot.

Also unclear was who would prevail in the crowded Democratic race to represent Chittenden County in the state Senate.

With Ashe and Ingram stepping down from the Senate to run for higher office, two of the district’s six seats were open.

Early results suggested that former state representative Kesha Ram of Burlington would claim one of them, and South Burlington city councilor Thomas Chittenden another. Incumbent Sens. Ginny Lyons (D-Chittenden), Michael Sirotkin

incumbent Rep. Hal Colston (D-Winooski) in winning Winooski’s primary for the Vermont House. If she prevails in the general election, Small could be the state’s first openly transgender lawmaker.

“What stands out most to me in this moment is the compassion of the community, how they are clearly looking for a change and making sure we are truly uplifting all the voices … [so that] our legislature is just as diverse as the people who are here,” Small said.

Colin Flanders and James Buck contributed reporting.

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

Waterbury Town Clerk Carla Lawrence emerged from the municipal office building on North Main Street on Tuesday and saw something that surprised her a bit: a line. Three people — the maximum allowed for social distancing — were filling out ballots inside already, so three waited in the blazing sun.

Vermonters largely heeded requests by elections officials to vote by mail, which kept lines, when they formed, short. But despite the push for mail-in voting and a high level of interest this year, people still turned up at the polls.

Tom Priebe and his wife had planned to vote by mail, but they went camping last week and couldn’t send their ballots off in time. “We got back on Sunday night, and then it was like, ‘Oh, shit!’” Priebe said after turning in his ballot to a poll worker in Waterbury.

Due to the smaller in-person turnout, the polling place had been moved from the gymnasium of the Thatcher Brook Primary School to a small community room in the town offices.

Poll worker Katrina VanTyne greeted voters and explained the new system.

Even if she had not been working the polls, VanTyne said, she still would have voted in person out of tradition. Her great-grandmother, Ethel Bowen, was the second woman in the state of Maine to vote, back in 1920. Voting has been drilled into the family as an inviolate civic duty.

“I still feel that there is something special about actually going to the polls and casting a vote,” VanTyne said. “Voting by mail, it’s just not as ceremonious.”

Similar scenes played out around the state.

In Williston, a smattering of residents trickled through the local Vermont National Guard armory to cast ballots on Tuesday morning. But the number who voted in advance of Election Day was “unheard of,” Town Clerk Sarah Mason said.

“This is just off the charts,” she said.

“Normally, a primary just doesn’t get that much attention, but right now the outreach, the education, the press — all of it — has just really amped up everybody’s interest in something that we should be doing anyway.”

According to Mason, roughly 2,600 Willistonians voted early this year, far more than the 1,500 to 2,000 who typically cast ballots in a primary election. She said she was skeptical when the Secretary of State’s Office delivered 10 pallets of absentee ballots to her office earlier this summer.

“I was like, ‘We’ll never need them.

We’ll just never need them,’” she recalled. “And then we ran out.”

Face masks, shields and social distancing were the norm.

In Duxbury, voters didn’t even have to get out of their vehicles at Crossett Brook Middle School. Drivers filled out their ballots from their cars, then pulled up to another station and dropped them off.

Town Clerk Maureen Harvey said the system offered both convenience and peace of mind.

“There’s little exposure out here to anything other than a pen,” Harvey said.

“If their car’s dirty, that’s on them!”

Paul Heintz contributed reporting.

Contact: kevin @sevendaysvt.com

Contact: paul@sevendaysvt.com SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

15

news EDUCATION

Despite Mayor’s Concerns, UVM Stands By Its Reopening Plan

BY D E RE K B R O UW E R

The University of Vermont appears poised to resume fall classes later this month despite mounting objections from city officials, faculty and neighboring residents.

On Monday, university president Suresh Garimella reiterated his confidence in UVM’s current approach in a written response to a list of concerns raised last week by Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger.

“I am proud to say that it not only meets the Governor’s standards, it exceeds many of them, and is one of the most stringent plans of any university in the nation,” Garimella wrote the plans.

The mayor generally supports the effort to reopen campus but sought changes around the frequency and disclosure of student COVID-19 tests, quarantining procedures, and how the university plans to police student behavior.

Garimella’s response did not signal any forthcoming changes. Instead, he detailed UVM’s success so far in preventing transmission of the new coronavirus among students who arrived in Burlington earlier this summer. Only about 1 percent of the 1,319 students swabbed between March and July have tested positive, “and all recovered with no spread,” Garimella noted.

It was not clear whether those figures included two positive tests that recently disrupted training for the UVM men’s basketball team, just days after practices began.

The university says its fall COVID-19 testing program will quickly identify and suppress new cases. UVM will test all students before, upon and seven days following their arrival in Burlington, then weekly through mid-September.

Much of the anxiety surrounding UVM’s plan stems from the thousands of students who pack into rental units near campus, over whom the college has less control. Hundreds of residents have circulated petitions calling for neighborhood patrols and harsh crackdowns on students caught partying or disregarding public health guidance off campus. Neighbors and many faculty members doubt that students will abide by the conduct pledge, dubbed the Green and Gold Promise, that they are required to sign.

UVM has created an online form where neighbors can report bad behavior, and officials have vowed to treat rule breakers harshly. The university’s website states that sanctions may include $250 fines or academic suspension.

16

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

Pot’s Shot? « P.12 out how to do this in August,” she said.

Ashe confirmed the speaker’s recollection.

Johnson has acknowledged that retail weed does not rank high on her priority list. Her stance has not earned her fans among the pro-pot crowd: Many blamed her when S.54 sputtered out in the House last year, and few were pleased when she would not commit at the start of this session to bringing the bill to a vote, citing concerns over the impacts on highway safety, youth usage and the environment.

Johnson has maintained that her personal views will not stand in the way of the tax-and-regulate bill. Asked in a May interview with Vermont Public Radio to explain why the conference committee hadn’t met, she said she believed that legislative resources needed to be focused on helping Vermonters get through the pandemic.

“We’ll get around to discussing it,” she said.

Johnson said Monday that the conference committee has clearance to begin meeting anytime, though she did not remember exactly when that message was shared with the House’s negotiating team.

Rep. John Gannon (D-Wilmington), a strong supporter of S.54 and chair of the conference committee, told Seven Days last week that he did not know when the committee would hold its initial meeting, or even whether it had Johnson’s permission to meet in the first place.

“My goal, hopefully with the speaker’s blessing, is to get things moving,” he said.

Johnson’s office is now working to schedule meetings for all House policy committees through the month of August.

Both she and Ashe say they expect the conference committee will begin meeting this month, potentially starting next week.

Committee members will have their hands full once deliberations begin. They must decide on a single tax structure, determine how much local control to give municipalities and settle competing approaches to highway safety.

They also need to consider the market’s startup costs. As proposed, S.54 would establish a Cannabis Control Board that would be responsible for regulation and licensing of all stages of the supply chain for legal weed. The overhead costs run just shy of $1 million a year and would not be fully offset by tax revenues until the third year of the market’s existence, according to the Vermont Legislative Joint Fiscal Office.

Johnson has questioned the wisdom of running a spending deficit when the state is already facing a budget shortfall;

the legislature’s economist has projected that Vermont could see upwards of a $400 million loss of revenue in fiscal year 2021 due to the pandemic.

Sears wasn’t too concerned, noting that there are ways to spend money in anticipation of future revenue and then pay it back later. “We find money to do all kinds of things, don’t we?” he said.

THE REASONS FOR [SETTING UP THE MARKET]

HAVE ONLY GOTTEN STRONGER. MAT T S IMO N

In the long term, supporters of S.54 say, a legal cannabis market would create thousands of new jobs and bring in millions of dollars in taxes. But while lawmakers are on the hunt for new revenue now more than ever, some have been surprised at the market’s paltry anticipated returns.

In late February, the Joint Fiscal Office estimated that a 20 percent tax on weed sales envisioned in the House version of S.54 would generate only about $30 million over the next five years, according to a mid-range projection. The Senate version would raise even less; it proposes levying a 16 percent state excise tax on marijuana sales and allowing municipal governments to charge an additional 2 percent local option tax. The House version requires that 30 percent of the excise tax earnings go toward prevention efforts.

“We’re not looking at an awful lot of revenue,” Rep. Janet Ancel (D-Calais), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, said at a February meeting.

But some weed advocates believe Vermont could take in far more money than state analysts projected — particularly if lawmakers agree to make several key changes to the bill.

Last week, the Marijuana Policy Project released a 37-page report that said the Green Mountain State has a chance to receive a whopping $175 million in tax revenue over a five-year period. That estimate is nearly six times greater than the Joint Fiscal Office’s projection, largely because it relies on vastly different assumptions.

For its analysis, the Joint Fiscal Office assumed Vermonters who regularly use marijuana would consume between five and six ounces per year — an estimate based on usage rates in Colorado and Washington. The Marijuana Policy Project report says recent data suggests Vermont ’s actual consumption rate could be twice as high.

And, whereas the Joint Fiscal Office report is based on the bill’s actual language, the advocacy group’s assumes several proposed policy changes that it says would help Vermont capture demand from out-ofstate consumers. Among them: prioritizing licenses for existing hemp and medical marijuana growers, and moving up the market’s debut from 2022 to 2021.

“To capitalize on the cannabis tax revenue projected in this report, Vermont must move faster than its neighbors,” the report reads. The state is already behind: Massachusetts and Maine now permit retail cannabis sales.

Graham Campbell, a senior fiscal analyst who wrote the Joint Fiscal Office’s opinion, said the advocacy group’s report appears to use data from academic studies to project the number of users and their consumption rates. His projections, on the other hand, rely heavily on the actual financial experience in other states.

“In general, those revenue estimates are quite a bit lower than what is in this report,” Campbell said. But, noting the challenge of projecting outcomes in a relatively young industry such as cannabis, where new information is coming out every year, he added, “That doesn’t necessarily mean that they are wrong.”

He called the report “useful” and said he may draw some lessons from it if he is asked for a new report later this year, though he would probably continue to rely on his own methodology.

Johnson had not seen the new report

SINCE 1982

but said she would stick with projections from state analysts. “The Marijuana Policy Project is a little bit biased,” she said.

The advocacy group is hoping to gain more traction with the conference committee. But even if lawmakers support its recommendations, nailing down the details of such substantial changes to the bill — on top of the other existing differences — would require some legwork.

Time isn’t on their side. This month’s budget session begins August 25, and though lawmakers have until the end of September to finalize the spending plan, no one knows how long the session will last.

Sears said the committee is currently far from an agreement, but he was confident they could work through the issues.

“The important thing would be sitting down together,” he said.“I can’t get there if they won’t hold the meeting.”

Johnson would not say whether she thought the bill had a good chance of passing this year, noting that the House and Senate are “so far apart.”

“I’ll be looking to see if they can resolve our differences,” she said. If the final proposal doesn’t satisfy the House, she continued, “then we’ll have to say, ‘No, thank you,’” and try again next session.

Such comments, coupled with the committee’s delay and her long-standing reluctance, will only fuel questions about whether Johnson has purposefully slowed down the process. She wasn’t worried about that perspective.

“The fact that it’s gone through pretty much every committee in the House, and I’ve appointed members of the conference committee, are all signs that I have not used my singular power to stand in the way,” she said.

Her counterpart in the Senate agreed with that assessment.

“When the speaker and I talked, we both said it could get done,” Ashe said.

“History will judge whether it does.”

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

Contact: colin@sevendaysvt.com

Follow stories like this on...

BACK TO SCHOOL

Federal SchoolImprovement Loan to Save Winooski Millions

Experienced & Professional Seamstresses ~ Specializing in Formal & Bridal Wear General Alterations & Tailoring ~ Emboidery/Monogramming

SEWINGBASKETVT.COM

159 Pearl St, Essex Junction: 878-7181, Monday-Friday 9am-5pm 325 N. Main St, Barre: 476-8389, Monday-Friday 8:30am-5:30pm, Saturday 8am-Noon

7 5 1

12h-SewingBasket062420.indd 1

BY A L I S ON NOVAK

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week a $57.8 million loan to the Winooski School District that will be used to undertake a massive renovation of its facilities.

The USDA Rural Development Community Facilities loan is the largest of its kind ever awarded in Vermont.

The 30-year loan has an interest rate of 2.25 percent, according to USDA Vermont State Director Anthony Linardos. That low rate will save the district, and Winooski taxpayers, approximately $11 million over the life of the loan, Winooski School District finance manager Nicole Mace said. That’s because the project’s initial estimate — the figure used for a school bond that Winooski voters approved in May of 2019 — used an interest rate projection from the Vermont Bond Bank of 3.63 percent, Mace explained. In response to the economic downturn wrought

by COVID-19, the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates in March to stimulate the economy, and they remain at a record low.

By Vermont standards, Winooski doesn’t feel particularly rural. But Linardos said Winooski’s population of fewer than 20,000 qualified it for a rural development loan. It is the only Vermont school district to receive this type of loan — which is awarded for community facilities, including hospitals, libraries, schools and municipal buildings — this year.

A team from the Winooski School District worked for several months with the USDA to complete the loan application process.

Last year, Winooski voters approved the $57.8 million school renovation bond by a narrow margin — 368 to 346 — to overhaul the school’s campus on Normand Street.

The 140,000-square-foot complex houses all of the district’s approximately 860 students in grades pre-K-12 and was built between 1957 and 2000 to accommodate 650 students. Winooski is one of the few Vermont school districts that is growing; student population is expect to increase by 10 percent in the next two decades, said the district’s communications director, Emily Hecker.

Construction began on the project in June and is expected to be completed by August 2022.

top news stories

days a week

6/23/20 4:37 PM

convenient email

Sign up to keep up: sevendaysvt.com/daily7 12H-Daily7081220.indd 1

8/11/20 4:39 PM

Contact: alison@kidsvt.com

vermontcannabeat.com SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020 Untitled-12 1

17

8/11/20 5:50 PM

news Making Noise « P.13

18

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

MICHAEL TONN

matter to the Environmental Division of the Vermont Superior Court. The case is still pending.

Worthley and Higher Ground co-owners Alan Newman and Alex Crothers began meeting with neighbors to work out their disagreements, even hiring a professional mediator and continuing over Zoom when the pandemic hit. The opponents proposed cutting the venue’s maximum capacity to 750 people — less than Higher Ground’s current 1,050 on Williston Road — and closing the venue at 10 p.m. instead of 2 a.m.

“At first it felt like a negotiation,” said Sharon O’Neill of Burlington, one of the neighbors closest to the project. “But then it did start to feel like there was a lot of ‘no’ coming from their direction.”

Burton submitted a formal application to the city in May before any agreement could be reached. The plans dedicate nearly 11,600 square feet to the Higher Ground music space, plus a sizable outdoor patio. The food court — which would feature local favorites Mad Taco and Misery Loves Co. — will be considered in a separate application.

The venue could draw as many as 500 cars for a sold-out show, assuming people carpool, but there are only two ways to drive there: from the north, along Home Avenue, or from the south crossing a onelane bridge on Queen City Park Road.

Neighbors say neither road is equipped to handle that volume of traffic. And unless the Champlain Parkway is built, congestion at the Home Avenue-Pine Street intersection will get worse, according to Burton’s own traffic study. Designed to connect Interstate 189 to downtown Burlington, the parkway has been held up by legal appeals for decades, though the city hopes to start construction next spring.

Neighbors near the one-lane bridge predict problems, too. Queen City Park resident Richard White said queuing cars could block the entrance to the neighborhood. A retired physician, White worries that postconcert traffic could hamper emergency services. “We feel like we’re gonna be choked,” he said.

Worthley, however, said most concertgoers would arrive after peak commuter hours. He said Burton will monitor traffic after the first 10 shows to determine whether a flagger could help keep cars moving. He doesn’t expect there will be a problem, because there won’t be many sold-out shows.

Ben Traverse, who lives at the corner of Pine and Home, told the Development Review Board last week that Burton’s “wait and see” approach doesn’t cut it. He

generally supports Burton’s plans and is not part of the citizen group, but he doubts that traffic will be as manageable as Worthley predicts. He urged Burton to address the issue before the project is built, not afterward.

“It would not be acceptable … for there to not be a solution for this intersection,” he said.

Other neighbors say Burton’s plans wouldn’t do enough to curb noise. Burton’s study shows that concert noise would be loudest at O’Neill’s home on Arthur Court, a cul-de-sac in the venue’s backyard. Noise could reach 42 decibels during concerts and 44 decibels after, the study says, but would be consistent with the area’s existing nighttime noise levels.

The venue would use drywall and insulation to deaden the sound and would have a “no-tailgating” policy to prevent people from congregating after shows. City planners have suggested that the review board issue a permit with the condition that Burton monitor noise during and after three sold-out events.

If levels are higher than predicted, the company would have to order additional sound suppression.

The neighbors say sounds from the concerts would violate Burlington’s own noise ordinance, which prohibits “plainly audible” music between 10 p.m.

and 7 a.m. A report by the opponents’ expert, Les Blomberg, concludes that Burton failed to account for louder vehicles or inebriated patrons leaving the venue “in any credible way.”

“At the end of a concert, when more than a thousand people who have been drinking and have suffered a temporary threshold shift in their hearing ability leave, they will not file out like monks following evening prayers,” Blomberg wrote in his report.

Emery, the South Burlington city councilor, expects that residents will also feel the bass from loud concerts — as she does, living five blocks from Higher Ground’s present-day location.

The venue is currently closed due to the pandemic, but Emery said neighbors have made noise complaints over the years. South Burlington councilors have raised concerns over noise and safety with Burton representatives in several meetings in the last few weeks.

They suggested Burton hire a sound engineer if neighbors complain about low-frequency noise and enlist off-duty police officers to direct traffic. Burton refused, Emery said.

“Having no statutory protections in place whatsoever — I find that to be very unfair,” she said, noting that her constituents already deal with noise from the Burlington-owned airport. “When we

have no control over it, it’s a very hard pill to swallow.”

Worthley, along with Higher Ground’s Newman and Crothers, declined a followup interview with Seven Days until after the Development Review Board’s August 18 meeting, when the project will be discussed again. It’s unclear when the board will vote.

Meantime, more than three dozen people have written letters urging the review board to approve the project.

About half of them are Burton employees or people connected to Newman, who helped found several prominent Vermont businesses, including Magic Hat Brewing, Seventh Generation and Gardener’s Supply. None disclosed their professional affiliations in the correspondence.

Brett Smith is one of those supporters. He worked for Fuse, a marketing outfit that partnered with Burton in the past, and also lives on nearby Austin Drive. Smith — no relation to project opponent Laurie Smith — isn’t concerned about noise but recognizes that it’s natural for homeowners to worry. He compared the Burton conundrum to the debate when Burlington wanted to develop a skate park on the waterfront, an effort he supported. The park is beloved today, but neighbors opposed it before it was built.

Newman was among those opponents.

A resident of Lakeview Terrace, which overlooks the waterfront, Newman and nearly 40 other neighbors appealed a skate park permit in 2011 over concerns that traffic and noise would keep them up at night.

“We need to be able to live in our homes, sleep peacefully and have rights as citizens of Burlington,” they wrote in a letter to city planners. “While we are totally in favor of good mixed use zoning … we also need to have our homes and neighborhood considered and respected.”

The group lost the appeal. Newman told Seven Days he doesn’t remember the case because he was then living in Los Angeles much of the time. “I suspect I signed to go along with my neighbors,” he said.

But Laurie Smith, the project opponent, can’t ignore the irony.

“Why are we NIMBY and what you did wasn’t?” he posited, referring to the term for people who tell developers, “Not in my backyard.”

“He didn’t succeed,” he continued, “so maybe he thinks we won’t.”

Sasha Goldstein contributed reporting.

Contact: courtney@sevendaysvt.com

If you have recently welcomed an aging parent into your home, and are providing needed care, we may be able to help you!

What Happens in Mississippi...

We believe in keeping families together whenever possible.

Find out how we can help.

A COVID-19 outbreak prompts scrutiny of Vermont’s private prison contract B Y K E VI N MCCA LLUM

V

ermont Department of Corrections officials have had plenty to say in recent weeks about the coronavirus outbreak that has infected 146 of their inmates at a for-profit prison in Mississippi.

They say they’ve lost trust in CoreCivic, the private company that runs the maximum-security Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility.

They say all inmates need to be tested — not just those in the units that house 219 Vermonters — whether they are symptomatic or not.

And they say they owe it to the Vermont inmates and their families to ensure that they receive the same level of medical care as those serving sentences

SOUND BITES ABOUT BRINGING PEOPLE BACK SOUND GOOD,

BUT IT’S NOT AS SIMPLE AS THAT.

I NT ER IM COR RE CTIONS COMMI SSIONER J IM BAKE R

in-state.

But one thing Corrections officials can’t say is that they weren’t warned.

Brian Butler made sure of that. The 62-year-old Springfield man raised the alarm early in the pandemic that CoreCivic wasn’t doing much to keep the virus out of the Mississippi prison.

Butler, who is serving a sentence of 28 years to life for trying to kill his girlfriend with a hunting knife, observed no additional cleaning measures at the prison in Tutwiler, a small town in the rural northwest corner of Mississippi. He and other inmates weren’t provided alcohol-based hand sanitizer or disinfectant wipes or gloves. There was no social distancing, according to the lawsuit filed on Butler’s behalf in April by the Vermont Prisoners’ Rights Office.

And even though at least one staff member tested positive for the virus on March 23, life for inmates was “business as usual,” the suit claimed.

The lawsuit asked a Vermont judge to issue an emergency injunction ordering the state to require protective measures at the Mississippi prison. The case received scant news coverage this spring, in part because it was dismissed in May after the State of Vermont agreed to a number of Butler’s requests.

The suit has taken on new import in recent days because the Mississippi COVID -19 outbreak would seem to confirm Butler’s 4-month-old allegations that Vermont’s inmates there were receiving less protection from the virus than those serving their sentences back at home.

Despite the adoption of some additional safety measures, including daily temperature checks and training in the use of personal protective equipment, inmates in Mississippi were only tested if they showed COVID-19 symptoms, Vermont officials have acknowledged.

By contrast, every single inmate in Vermont has been tested on a rotating basis every few weeks. The practice, adopted after an early April outbreak at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, is something Corrections officials consider key to their success in keeping in-state prisons free of the virus.

Vermont also tests inmates when they arrive at an in-state prison. When six inmates in Mississippi were transferred to Vermont on July 28 and tested positive, they were kept apart from other inmates.

The Department of Corrections subsequently ordered that all of its prisoners in Mississippi be tested; two-thirds were found to be infected.

The disparate treatment of the two prisoner populations stems from an outof-sight, out-of-mind mentality at the Department of Corrections, said Butler’s attorney, Annie Manhardt.

“One of the dangers of sending people 1,000 miles away is that it’s hard to continue to make them a priority,” Manhardt said.

The crisis has renewed calls by

Visit our website at

vtcomfortsofhome.org or call us at 802 662-5978 6H-VtComfort081220.indd 1

8/5/20 12:18 PM

CORRECTIONS

WHAT HAPPENS IN MISSISSIPPI...

» P.20

Ready for school?

A NorthCountry Visa can help you be prepared, whether you’re sitting in a classroom or learning from the comfort of home.

■ No annual fee ■ Contactless payments ■ Low fixed rates Apply for yours at www.northcountry.org/creditcards

www.northcountry.org (802) 657-6847 3V-NorthCountry081220 1

Insured by NCUA

(800) 660-3258 SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

19

8/7/20 2:21 PM

news AP PHOTO/ROGELIO V. SOLIS

CoreCivic’s prison in Tutwiler, Miss., in 2018

What Happens in Mississippi... « P.19 lawmakers and candidates to return all prisoners being held out of state. Rep. Mary Hooper (D-Montpelier) made it clear at a recent Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee meeting last week that she wanted to see action toward that goal soon.

“I think we need to have a really hard conversation about how we cease using out-of-state facilities and what it’s going to take to bring people back home,” Hooper said. “Not in five years, after we’ve built a new facility, but what we are going to do today?”

Interim Corrections Commissioner Jim Baker said he understood the goal but highlighted several challenges.

“Sound bites about bringing people back sound good, but it’s not as simple as that,” Baker said.

As of last week, there were 115 open beds for men in Vermont prisons and 46 for women, Baker said, but those beds are needed in case prisoners must be quarantined after a positive test. Bringing inmates back now would erode the department’s ability to control outbreaks.

In mid-January, 1,414 inmates were housed in the state. That total dropped to 1,146 in April as the state worked to thin the population behind bars during the pandemic. But the prison population had bumped back up to 1,203 by July, after courts resumed a more normal caseload.

20

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

Baker further warned that Corrections staff has been “drained” by the enormous additional COVID-19 workload.

“What we’ve got to be careful of is that we don’t start affecting our ability to manage the virus here in Vermont,” Baker said.

Sen. Dick Sears (D-Bennington), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, noted that the out-of-state population is a third of what it once was. He also accepts the need to preserve space to enable in-state prisons to safely handle any surge in infections.

Still, the overall drop in the number of prisoners presents an opportunity to return some inmates, he said.

“We can do better,” Sears said. “I think we could probably bring 70 to 75 back now.”

He added that there may be no need to send any prisoners out of state if cost savings from recent steps to lower the overall prison population are reinvested in programs aimed at keeping people out of jail in the first place.

A law adopted this year enhances parole programs and reinstitutes credit for good behavior. It also reforms furlough programs to reduce the number of nonviolent offenders returning to prison for lower-level violations of the terms of their release.

“I know some people become a pain in the neck, but a lot of people, in order to make progress, need to make two steps forward and one step back, and we can’t lock ’em up on the one step back,” Sears said.

Space aside, Baker said inmates could return from Mississippi under several scenarios, though none would be easy.

“We have to … take a look at the individuals and their vulnerabilities, figure out a plan to keep them as safe as we possibly can, and that may or may not involve bringing folks back,” he said.

Baker sent Scott Strenio, his department’s part-time medical director, and Bob Arnell, its facilities operations manager, to the Mississippi prison last week. Strenio found that medical care at the facility appeared good and area hospitals seemed to have sufficient capacity. Baker said he was “feeling better” after receiving that report.

Gov. Phil Scott has acknowledged that failing to require proactive testing in Mississippi was “a shortcoming on our part,” but where the breakdown occurred remains murky.

Baker said someone in his department shared the state’s protocols with someone at CoreCivic, but he has yet to provide details to Seven Days.

“I’m still not in the position to figure out yet why we are where we are,” he said.

Manhardt, Butler’s attorney in the April lawsuit, said the state’s answer to the suit was essentially that there wasn’t much Vermont could do about conditions in Mississippi.

In a 34-page response to her injunction request, Geoffrey Vitt, a private attorney in Norwich representing the Department of Corrections, claimed that it “lacks authority to unilaterally implement facility-wide

policies and procedures” at the Mississippi prison.

“Nor can it order that [the prison] adopt specific policies and procedures aside from those Vermont DOC policies CoreCivic is required to adopt per the [contract] terms,” Vitt wrote.

The Corrections department “does not monitor or direct day-to-day operations” nor is it responsible for training Mississippi staff, Vitt added.

Despite the legal response, Department of Corrections staff did ask CoreCivic staff to wear masks around the Vermont prisoners — 30 minutes after Manhardt filed the lawsuit.

Vermont’s legal position “alarmed” Manhardt because it seemed contrary to one of the key reasons the state selected a private prison in the first place.

Vermont had cut short its previous contract with the Pennsylvania prison system after concerns arose about the medical care prisoners were receiving at the Camp Hill State Correctional Institution. In selecting CoreCivic, the Corrections department noted a selling point in a September 2018 news release: “The contract with CoreCivic allowed for Vermont to include adherence to our laws, rules and policies as part of the agreement.”

The department’s initial legal strategy rang hollow, Manhardt said: “For the DOC to have the defense be that they can’t do anything about it, it just seemed contrary to what they were saying before.”

Contact: kevin@sevendaysvt.com

FEED back «

WEEK IN REVIEW

P.7

FILE: COURTNEY LAMDIN

While those in power conducted a meeting with extreme consequences for houseless members of our community with as little notice and transparency as possible, the People’s Kitchen and supporters showed up in numbers that vastly outnumbered those inclined to make anonymous and cowardly remarks.

At least 50 members of our community were fed that day, amid an outpouring of support for our neighbors on Sears Lane, spurred by the callous indifference shown by elected officials and so-called advocates affiliated with the political meeting. We wish that story had been included.

Kristen Vrancken

BURLINGTON

Midtown Motel

EXPLAIN THIS

I can’t believe you dropped the comic “Mr. Brunelle Explains It All” [Feedback: “’Toon Deaf,” July 22]. It was always thoughtful and timely. And yet you kept “Dark Deep Fears” and “Futon Life”?

Your priorities are simply unbelievable!

Please bring it back and get rid of some of the clunkers that have so little to say at this important time in history. ’Toon deaf, indeed!

Glenn Ziemke WATERBURY

BRUNELLE IS A KEEPER

I was just reading in this week’s Seven Days the many comments expressing dismay and sadness that you have chosen to drop “Mr. Brunelle Explains It All” [Feedback: “’Toon Deaf,” July 22]. I echo their comments!

There are several other cartoons that I personally would much rather see disappear.

Jud Lawrie

ESSEX JUNCTION

K TO STAY

Thank you for bringing back “The K Chronicles” [From the Publisher: “’Tooning In,” July 8]! After Seven Days discontinued Keef Knight’s comics a while back, I ordered several of his books to support him in his trade.

They affirmed for me that Keef is one very funny man. At the same time, he shares a refreshing — and necessary, for us white folks — perspective of living without the privilege that “passing for white” bestows.

May I also say that I very much appreciate Robert Brunelle’s sense of humor

and wish you didn’t have to sacrifice a local cartoonist in order to publish one of color?

“Red Meat,” on the other hand, never resonated with me. Good riddance!

Irene Wrenner

ESSEX

BETTER CHOICE

Mayor Miro Weinberger’s veto of the referendum on ranked-choice voting is deeply disappointing [Off Message: “Weinberger Issues His First-Ever Veto to Block Ranked-Choice Voting,” August 6]. In justifying his decision, the mayor rehashed many tired and easily rebutted arguments against holding a referendum on RCV, but let’s be clear: This isn’t really about the practicality of holding a referendum. Rather, it is a cowardly and undemocratic attempt by an establishment politician to maintain his grip on power.

This is the second time this year that Democrats in Burlington’s city government have leveraged their power to block election reform. Enough is enough.

The blatant partisanship displayed by Weinberger and his friends on the city council has shown the people of Burlington how desperately their city needs RCV. The status quo of plurality voting entrenches partisan gridlock and encourages mudslinging to the benefit of the political establishment and the detriment of everyone else. RCV shifts power from the dominant political parties back to the voters. If that scares some partisans, maybe that’s OK. Thomas Buckley

COLCHESTER

CHECK INTO A ‘RESTORED MOTEL’

Jeff Nick’s solution for the Midtown Motel — to tear it down and build a parking lot — is a boring and uncreative proposal that would add nothing to the city [“No Vacancy,” August 5]. Furthermore, if the Midtown is in fact historic, tearing it down would rob Burlington of some of its character. Thankfully, there is another way.

As reported by websites, magazines and newspapers like the Guardian, Uproxx, Dwell and USA Today, restored motels are a bigger and bigger draw for travelers. A Google search for “restored motel” brings back millions of results, including the Vagabond Motel (Miami, Fla.), the Dive Motel (Nashville, Tenn.), the Austin Motel (Texas), the Brentwood Hotel (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and more. These have been updated with 21st-century amenities and comforts, while maintaining their kitschy mid-20th-century look.

Restoring the Midtown could not only preserve a piece of Burlington history, it could create jobs and contribute to the city’s revenue stream.

Any schnook can tear something down, and the last thing a city like Burlington should be promoting is more cars.

The Midtown may have some life in it yet, and converting it into a boutique hotel could be a better solution than just another parking lot.

Brendan Skwire

BURLINGTON

‘FORGOTTEN’ GROCERY WORKERS

[Re Off Message: “Workers Who Responded to COVID-19 Crisis Qualify

for Grants of Up to $2,000,” August 3]: As an essential worker in a grocery store, I find the reduction of the essential worker hazard pay program to leave out so many who came to work throughout this crisis absolutely disgusting. Along with dozens of coworkers, I showed up through the fear, anxiety and uncertainty of the early days of this pandemic. I don’t think a single one of us took so much as one day off for almost two months.

While Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe saying we are not forgotten is a pleasant sentiment, we have been forgotten. The amount of stress we all faced while dealing with a huge spike in demand in the buying panic, as well as the exposure we risked, often for minimum wage, is being completely ignored here. We have been screamed at about masks, been threatened and faced the fear of bringing this disease home to loved ones. The House of Representatives, which decided workers such as me shouldn’t get the aid, should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.

Amelia Salata-Hartman

BARRE

TRUE BREW

[Re “Near and Beer,” June 24]: As much as I appreciated seeing your story about three new breweries opening during the pandemic, I was disappointed by the inclusion of Soulmate, which is not a brewery and has no brewing equipment, no beer recipes and no brewer. Its inclusion delegitimizes the insane amount of time, money and effort that goes into starting a brewery at any time, let alone during a global pandemic.

I do not expect Seven Days to know of every new brewery opening in the state.

However, I do question the editorial approach of offering free publicity to a business with a GoFundMe/Kickstarter approach to opening a brewery that is offering only T-shirts and promises in the same breath as Black Flannel and Weird Window — real, active breweries that are contributing to Vermont’s brewing industry.

On that point, there is a third, live, local brewery that has started up during the pandemic that is arguably ahead of both Black Flannel and Weird Window. Lucy & Howe Brewing Company came online last month and has been producing and selling beer from a pico-brewery in Jericho since May. These brewers are hustling and taking huge risks to earn a buck in these extremely trying times. These are the businesses we need to spotlight.

Erin M. Ennis

ESSEX JUNCTION SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

21

22

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

1T-echo080520 1

8/3/20 11:58 AM

lifelines lines Want to memorialize a loved one?

OBITUARIES Sara “Sallie” Graham OCTOBER 22, 1938AUGUST 4, 2020 BURLINGTON, VT.

Sara (aka Sallie) L. Graham (Mathes) of Burlington, Vt., died peacefully at home surrounded by her family on August 4, 2020.

She was born October 22, 1938, to the late Frank and Kathryn Mathes — the middle of their three girls. She grew up in West Hartford, Conn., and summered on the shore in Old Saybrook. She attended Colby Sawyer Junior College and, in 1960, earned her nursing degree from Johns Hopkins University.

She returned to Connecticut and then, a few years later, settled in Old Saybrook, where she and the love of her life, Hugh (Gray) Hammond Graham II, would raise not only their family but the widest and deepest social network known to humankind.

Sallie was predeceased by Gray in 2011.

She followed her last born grandson to Vermont in 2017 in search of new adventures.

She is survived by her daughters, Mary Kate Mundell (Chip), Diane Kearney (Marc) and Tara Graham (Frank); her sisters, Debbie Brabec-Liebewein (Hutch) and Barbara Tirone (Frank); countless nieces and nephews and great-nieces and -nephews (with whom she loved talking and visiting); and her grandchildren: Sara and Dillon Kearney, Graham and Rowan Mundell, Rhiannon, Traven and Kaden Rosamilia, and Hugh Hammond Graham III. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the endless number of “fourth daughters,” a title extended to the daughters of her friends or friends of her daughters — you know who you are.

She found her professional home at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital, where she worked for more than 30 years as an operating room nurse, retiring in 1998.

Those who worked alongside her say she brought the OR to new life. She was one in a million — honestly one of the funniest people in the world, smart as a whip, political, spunky and witty. She loved hosting and attending parties and could always be found near the center. Sallie was genuinely curious and interested in others — spending hours talking with others about minute details of the everyday lives of the people she knew. She loved Broadway shows, live music, traveling, golf, playing bridge, dancing and boating. Being so social and fun-loving, she never liked to leave a party.

She was always the last to leave. She and Gray made friends wherever they went, especially treasuring their times in Old Saybrook; at the Inlets in Nokomis, Fla.; and in Kihea, Hawaii.

After moving to Vermont, she was proud to have completed the Hospice Volunteer Training Program at the University of Vermont Health Network Home Health & Hospice and, in her last few years, made peace with her mortality. During COVID-19,

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

Share your loved one’s story with the local community in Lifelines. she taught family members how to play bridge — something she had wished to do for a long time. She elected her hospice benefit when it was clear that the risks associated with interventions outweighed any benefits.

Her quality of life was not something Sallie would compromise.

A few people have noted, “Heaven just became a whole lot more fun.” Dance on, Sallie — you will live forever in our hearts. In honor of Sallie, do something outrageous.

Paint your hair blue, flirt with everyone you meet, put butter on everything, dress up for Halloween, ask endless questions, be very funny, and absolutely be the last to leave a party!

Sallie was deeply grateful for the expert skill and symptom management that only a hospice team can afford. Her last nine days of life were borrowed time, and not a moment was wasted — listening to music, the ocean, reminiscing with family and friends old and new. A wonderful end of life for someone who was so full of life.

For those wishing, memorial donations in her honor could be made to the LAM Foundation (give.thelamfoundation. org); Avery’s Fund (middlesexcountycf. org/ways-to-give/become-a-donor/fundcatalog/donor-advised/averys-fund) or the University of Vermont Health Network Home Health & Hospice — Home Hospice Program (uvmhomehealth.org/donations/ make-an-online-donation).

Sallie’s remains will be dispersed by her family and friends as she wished. A party fitting for Sallie will be hosted by her girls and their families in July of 2021 at Cornfield Point in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

lifelines

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

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

2v-Obit House Filler.indd 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

23

9/12/19 3:05 PM

arts news

24

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

Size Matters

At the Shelburne Museum, Peter Kirkiles’ sculptures subvert expectations

BY AM Y L I L LY

ART Kirkiles pays homage to the folding ruler in two sculptural re-creations: “Folding Ruler Star,” made from cypress, stainless steel and ink, whose oversize segments — 12 times the size of actual ones — are angled to form a star; and the painted mahoganyand-stainless-steel “Folding Rule No. 21,” arranged as a balanced jumble. Both are affixed to high metal stands the artist fabricated.

“This is fully functioning, if you were to take it off [the stand],” Rogers enthused of the latter sculpture during a tour with Seven Days. Viewing “Beading Plane,” whose enlarged, streamlined form is perched at a dynamic angle, he commented, “Theoretically, if sharpened, this tool would actually work.”

As the museum’s chief curator, Rogers

”Bernard Pliers” by Peter Kirkiles

rarely handles outdoor sculpture shows, which are normally the domain of associate curator CAROLYN BAUER. But when he received a postcard of Kirkiles’ New York City show five years ago, Rogers made a studio visit and fell in love with the work.

Kirkiles, who has devoted collectors, sent the card after seeing two of the museum’s exhibitions: Maine artist John Bisbee’s nail-formed sculptures, which comprised the first contemporary exhibit in the then-brand-new PIZZAGALLI CENTER FOR ART AND EDUCATION in 2014; and the Kalkin House, a prefab building since removed from the museum grounds. “I was like, Oh, my God, the Shelburne Museum is cool!

It’s not this stuffy place; it has an exciting aesthetic to it,” Kirkiles recalls.

COURTESY OF SHELBURNE MUSEUM

I

“

t’s the end of the world,” sculptor Peter Kirkiles joked, speaking to Seven Days last weekend while parked near a cellphone tower in his hometown of Kent, Conn. His house had lost power because of Tropical Storm Isaias the week before; felled trees still blocked the roads, and, of course, the coronavirus pandemic continued to hold everyday life hostage.

“But there’s still art,” he said.

Specifically, 14 of Kirkiles’ outdoor sculptures are on view at the newly reopened SHELBURNE MUSEUM. Curated by KORY ROGERS, “Peter Kirkiles: At Scale” deliberately plays with size. A giant yellow ruler made from mahogany and bronze stands beside the steamship Ticonderoga, while a bronze tabletop Pullman parlor car sits next to the museum’s full-size restored one.

Other works in bronze include a replica of writer John O’Hara’s dress shoe that’s two feet long, a 72-inch carpenter’s beading plane fit for a giant’s hands, a life-size grandfather clock and a 1946 Studebaker truck that’s the size of a large toy.

Scale aside, Kirkiles’ sculptures are a pleasure to view simply because their subjects are so ordinary, so meticulously rendered and so defiantly analog. Seeing them in person is something of a relief in the Zoom era.

Kirkiles studied metal fabrication for his MFA at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. Today he has a day job at a highend architectural metal fabricating firm, reserving his art making for weeknights and weekends.

On his website, Kirkiles makes a point of insisting that his work’s meaning doesn’t go beyond its subject matter.

During the phone call, the artist gave that assertion some context: He has reverence, almost nostalgia, for well-designed, wellused, history-laden objects. He makes his sculptures in an old red barn on his property, Kirkiles said, “So my subject matter is things that would potentially be stored in an old barn that you wouldn’t want to throw away — old tools, ceramic jugs, axes — those basic things that connect us all, [...] that are part of the New England vernacular. I’m fascinated by those things.

“Like the folding ruler,” he continued.

“That’s an object in our collective memory that has maintained a certain style and shape and look that isn’t readily disposed of. So, in terms of interpretation, the objects I choose to render need no interpretation; their meaning is self-evident.”

Both he and Rogers recognized that Kirkiles’ work was uniquely suited to the venue. The artist noted that the museum’s collection consists of “150,000 everyday objects,” many of the mundane sort that his sculptures literally put on a pedestal.

Rogers further realized that the scale of Kirkiles’ pieces often recalls that of 19th-century trade signs, such as large wooden keys that hung outside locksmith shops. The Shelburne Museum has an important collection of such objects.

During a Zoom artist talk with Kirkiles for members a week before the museum reopened, Rogers commented on the affinity between the “whimsical” nature of the museum and Kirkiles’ work. The artist agreed.

“There is that ‘Mister Rogers train set’ kind of feeling [to the Shelburne Museum],” Kirkiles said. “The weird thing about installing my work there is that there is almost a seamlessness” between it, the buildings and the collection.

Kirkiles had Vermont connections before the show. Three years ago, he found a stash of old foundry equipment for sale on eBay and drove to Burlington to collect it. He uses it to make all his pieces by hand.

(His materials are scraps collected from his day job.)

About a decade ago, Kirkiles discovered Waltham master woodworker TIMOTHY CLARK and hired him for a day to teach him dovetailing and other techniques. “He’s the consummate Renaissance maker,” Kirkiles said of Clark.

Kirkiles compared his own artistic practice to a farm-to-table restaurant, or “that guy in Middlebury who can make you a custom pair of shoes.” (He most likely meant DAN FREEMAN.) These days, Kirkiles said, “That’s an uncommon thing, to be able to make something that’s so straightforward. And that’s what we’re missing. Nowadays, in this hightech world of virtual stuff, being a maker is weird.

“People romanticize it, and people put a lot of language to it, but it’s still a viable thing to go out into the barn and make something,” he concluded. “It’s more powerful than any virtual thing.”

Contact: lilly@sevendaysvt.com

INFO “Peter Kirkiles: At Scale,” through October 12 on the grounds of Shelburne Museum. shelburnemuseum.org.

GOT AN ARTS TIP? ARTNEWS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Weaving Together

Mask makers respond to the pandemic with cloth art

BY MARGARET GRAYSON

“No country can ever truly f lourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half its citizens.”

ART

— MICHELLE OBAMA FORMER FIRST LADY, AUTHOR, ACTIVIST, MOTHER

4T-sweeney081220.indd 1

COURTESY OF PAM CROSS

AUG 2020

The St. Albans Face Mask Group’s “Quilt of Hope”

O

n April 3, the Centers for groups of sewists have also found cloth to Disease Control and Preven- be a perfect medium for bringing artistry tion officially recommended to the pandemic era. that Americans wear face BETHANY BARRY of Cornwall belongs to masks to prevent the spread of the Middlebury’s SEWING FOR CHANGE, a group coronavirus. Sewists — a relatively new that began sewing reusable bags in 2019 term for people who as part of the effort sew — were way advocating for a ban ahead of them. By on single-use plastic the end of March, bags. In March, they reports of shortages started sewing masks of elastic, commonly and giving them away used to secure face to local health care B E THANY BARRY masks, were already workers and others. So emerging around the far, Barry said, 20-odd country. Sewists, professional tailors and volunteers have made about 1,000 masks. milliners were cranking out masks, in Barry, an artist, had been experimenting Vermont and elsewhere. with weaving different fabrics together in Today, you can find Vermont-made her studio and thought they’d be beautiful face masks in nearly every color and on a mask. And she wanted to inject some pattern. While safety is the first concern, color into downtown Middlebury, which is two new projects in the St. Albans and in the throes of an extensive construction Middlebury areas demonstrate that project.

WEAVING TOGETHER » P27

PART OF THIS IS ABOUT STITCHING OUR WAY

THROUGH THE PANDEMIC.

CELEBRATE LOCAL FOOD & FARMS

ORDER TAKEOUT

7/30/20 1:43 PM

THE GREAT VERMONT PICNIC

& VT PRODUCTS TO-GO

#VERMONT PICNIC # VFNEATS FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT VERMONTFRESH.NET 4T-VFN080520.indd 1

MEDIA SPONSOR:

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

25

8/3/20 2:42 PM

arts news

The Bait Untaken Streaming video review: The Goldfinch

AMAZON STUDIOS

B Y MA R GO T HA R R I SON

scrappy Ukrainian with a thirst for “wodka” and a skill for gunplay.

IF YOU LIKE THIS, TRY...

• “Bleak House” (15 episodes, 2005; BritBox, Hulu; rentable on various platforms): If you like “Dickensian,” how about some Dickens? Gillian Anderson and Carey Mulligan are among the stars of this acclaimed BBC adaptation of the doorstop classic about an epic lawsuit.

• The Royal Tenenbaums (2001; rentable on various platforms): The Goldfinch seems to be trying to pull off a combination of whimsy and worldliness in its scenes of upper-class Manhattan. If you’re into that, Wes Anderson does it so much better.

• Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019; Hulu, rentable on various services): Of all the movies about visual art and its power to immortalize our fleeting lives, this is my favorite in recent memory. Or, for Will Oldham making a convincing argument that art isn’t actually immortal, you could watch A Ghost Story on Netflix.

Contact: margot@sevendaysvt.com

Oakes Fegley and Finn Wolfhard in The Goldfinch

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 FILM: The Goldfinch

Amazon Prime Video; rentable on various platforms THE DEAL: In this adaptation of Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, a terrorist bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art changes everything for 13-year-old Theo Decker (Oakes Fegley). His mother is killed in the blast, setting him adrift to find a home first with the cultured matriarch (Nicole Kidman) of a Park Avenue family, then with his deadbeat dad (Luke Wilson) amid the foreclosed homes of Las Vegas, then with a sympathetic antiques dealer (Jeffrey Wright).

All the while, Theo keeps a secret: WHERE TO SEE IT:

26

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

During the chaos following the bombing, he made off with a priceless 17th-century painting, Carel Fabritius’ “The Goldfinch.”

That theft haunts him into his twenties.

Hiding a broken psyche and a drug addiction beneath a façade of success, the older Theo (Ansel Elgort) must find a way to reconcile with his past.

WILL YOU LIKE IT? Before its September 2019 release, The Goldfinch was expected to be an awards contender, given its beloved source material, director John Crowley (Brooklyn) at the helm and Oscar winner Roger Deakins behind the camera. Then the reviews came in. A critical and financial flop, this failed Oscar-bait is now free for your delectation on Amazon Prime.

So, how bad is it? Not having read the novel, I tried to give the movie a chance on its own terms, but I had trouble stomaching the too-cute precocity of young Theo in his ties and sweater vests. The film’s vision of affluent New York seems to date from the 1930s, with tweens making arch statements such as “They’ve grown quite fond of you.” This

refinement is contrasted almost cartoonishly with the modernity of Vegas, where Theo’s dad and his girlfriend embody the ultimate sin (in this story, anyway) of being tacky, money-grubbing slobs.

The core problem is that Theo is remote and passive throughout, more conceit than character. The movie becomes way more fun whenever his ne’er-do-well friend Boris is on-screen, even though (or perhaps because?) Finn Wolfhard plays him as a teen with a ludicrous “Ukrainian” accent. And it’s Boris who catalyzes much of the action.

As the two kids wander around a desert development together, swimming and tripping on pills, Deakins’ cinematography briefly turns the movie into a Sofia Coppolatype mood piece. But then the Dickensian plot kicks in again, full of connections and contrivances and monologues about art and life and mortality and timelessness, and all that is as annoying as it sounds. I came away with the moral that to be a good person, you need the soul of an artist, but if you want to get anything done, it’s probably better to be a

Sunset Drive-In Through Thursday, August 13: Grease & Dirty Dancing The Goonies & Stand By Me The Tax Collector & Black Water: Abyss Inside Out & Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Through Thursday, August 20: Goonies & Stand By Me Jurassic World & The Mummy Grown Ups & Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Grease & Dirty Dancing

Bethel Drive-In Friday, August 14, through Sunday, August 16: Forrest Gump

Fairlee Drive-In Friday, August 14, through Sunday, August 16: Jurassic World & Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (first feature only on Sunday)

GOT AN ARTS TIP? ARTNEWS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

COURTESY OF BETHANY BARRY

Weaving Together « P.25

“Masks on the Line” at the Marble Works District in Middlebury

“I was driving in town, and I thought, This is so dreary,” Barry said. “This is such a dark time. There’s so much uncertainty.”

Barry met with seven other local sewists, one of whom suggested stringing masks together like Tibetan prayer flags.

The group made 139 additional oversize masks, tied them together and strung them on storefronts, the town office and the HENRY SHELDON MUSEUM OF VERMONT HISTORY. The installation, which went up on August 1, is called “Masks on the Line.”

“It happened to be the same day that Gov. [Phil] Scott’s mask mandate came out,” Barry said, referring to the order that requires Vermonters to wear masks in public spaces.

The rainbow of masks is impossible to miss while walking or driving through Middlebury. Barry hopes to take “Masks on the Line” to nearby towns next.

“We’d love to get more towns involved, and we’d love to get more people sewing,” she said. “Part of this is about stitching our way through the pandemic. How are people getting through this time? Well, one way is stitchery.”

Farther north, a group in St. Albans has been churning out masks by the thousands.

In March, PAM CROSS organized a Facebook group for the area; it quickly grew to hundreds of members, who have made more than 25,000 masks and donated them to Northwestern Medical Center, other health and rehab centers, local grocery stores, schools, childcare centers, and the Colchester Police Department.

“Our mask makers are the Rosie the Riveters of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Cross, a retired nurse, wrote in an email to Seven Days. She pointed out that, if a mask takes about 30 minutes to make, 25,000 masks equals 12,500 hours of volunteer

time — plus hours of organizing and delivery.

Before she began making masks, Cross consulted medical experts to maximize the effectiveness of her material and pattern. Then she went to the fabric store and loaded three carts with cloth, interfacing, elastic and thread. Since then, the group has received donations of fabric and other supplies, including T-shirts, which the sewists transform into mask ties.

Many of the mask makers in St. Albans are also quilters. Around the 10,000-mask mark, someone suggested they use leftover fabric scraps for a quilt, so the group cut out 121 blocks for a “Quilt of Hope.”

“One way to capture a piece of history dates back centuries, and that is quilting,” Cross wrote. “Each of these blocks is personalized by our active group members. So each block has a story to tell.”

In the end, the group made two kingsize quilts. The “Quilt of Hope” will have a permanent home in the St. Albans Historical Society, while the other is up for raffle on GoFundMe. Proceeds from the sales of $5 tickets will fund the making of more masks, all of them to be donated.

“We do not and will not sell masks,” Cross wrote. “This project is one of the most rewarding efforts I have ever been involved with. The incredible dedication, selflessness and willingness to help each other, of the women involved in the project, is almost beyond words.”

Breeze Through Summer

STOREWIDE SALE For a limited time save in-store on all LIGHTING, FANS, we beat HOME DECOR and FURNITURE during our Breezeinternet Through Summer Sale.

We offer the area’s finest selection with prices to fit any budget.

PRICING

every day low price guarantee

we beat internet

PRICING every day low price guarantee

$20 Off $50 Off $100 Off

in-store purchase over $200

in-store purchase over $500

in-store purchase over $1000

*Offer ends September 7, 2020. Excludes Sale Items, prior offers or discounts. One coupon per person. Must present coupon to redeem.

Contact: margaret@sevendaysvt.com

INFO

RT 7 Shelburne Rd • 985-2204 Hours: Mon. – Fri. 9 - 5:30, Sat. 9 - 5, Sun. 10 - 4

Learn more at sewingforchange.net and on Facebook at St. Albans Face Mask Group -Pam Cross. Raffle tickets are available on GoFundMe under the same name.

www.TheLightingHouse.net Untitled-8 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

27

8/7/20 2:18 PM

CRUEL AND UNUSUAL?

Amid pandemic, inmates want out PAGE 12

V E R M O N T ’ S I N DE PE N DE N T V O I C E APRIL 15-22, 2020 VOL.25 NO.29 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

The Man Behind the Mask Gov. Phil Scott leads Vermont through a historic crisis

BY PAUL HEI NTZ , PAGE 32

CLOSING CURTAINS

PAGE 24

Summer theater season nixed

SHELTER IN PLAYS

PAGE 40

An actor’s online quarantine log

ON THE RISE

PAGE 44

Isolation spurs baking boom

STRAIGHT SHOOTER?

Renewed scrutiny for state trooper PAGE 18

PERFECT FIT

Macy’s suit savant says farewell

VE RMO NT ’S I NDE P E ND E NT VO I C E FEBRUARY 21-28, 2018 VOL.23 NO.23 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

PAGE 36

SINGLES SERVING

Fine dining, ‘Bachelor’ style PAGE 38

Becca Balint’s swift ascent from stay-at-home mom to Senate majority leader

WOMAN

ON THE RISE

BY ALICIA F REESE, PAGE 30

WE’VE COVERED A LOT OF POLITICS IN 25 YEARS.

SPECIAL REPORT: WEEK TWO Examining Vermont’s Nonprofit Economy

V ER M ONT ’S IND EPE NDE NT VO IC E JUNE 27-JULY 04, 2018 VOL.23 NO.41 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

PAGE 14

True

Believer At 80, Burlington peace activist Robin Lloyd is still up for the good fight

BY KEN PICAR D , PAGE 32

SHE’S THE FIRST CLIENT I’VE EVER HAD WHO WANTED TO GO TO JAIL. SANDY BAIRD

EXIT POLL

PAGE 38

Weeders Survey results

28

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

SMOKE SCREEN

PAGE 40

Legal pot raises questions

WILD COURSES

PAGE 44

Chef explores micro-seasons

Lawyers help evictees

BUDGET BUSTED

PAGE 16

PAGE 14

Virus sinks state finances

V E R MO N T’S IN DE P E N DE N T V O IC E APRIL 8-15, 2020 VOL.25 NO.28 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

VERMONT’S INDEPENDENT VOICE MARCH 15-22, 2017 VOL.22 NO.27 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

LEGAL-EASE

ters SisAct

MONEY ISSUE

BY TERRI HALLENBECK, PAGE 28

BECHDEL IS BACK

MICROBE MATTERS

‘Dykes’ takes on Ides of Trump

UVM seeks stool transplant cure

PAGE 22

PAGE 38

INSIDE!

Kids VT April issue

WAIT FOR IT

PAGE 18

Aid for self-employed is weeks off

MINDING MONEY

INSIDE!

A pullout guide to the Vermont International Film Festival

VE R MONT ’S I NDE P E NDE NT VOI C E OCTOBER 12-19, 2016 VOL.22 NO.05 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

O

Patrick Leahy has been in office for more than half his life. Is that long enough?

B Y PAU L HE I N T Z , PA G E 3 0

PICK YOUR DAYSIES!

Right in Rutland

Will Mayor Chris Louras fall on his sword for 100 Syrians?

BY MARK DAVIS, PAGE 28

VERMONT’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

JUNE 08-15, 2016 VOL.21 NO.39

SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Round two voting starts Monday

AUTHOR, AUTHOR?

PAGE 36

Seeking Shirley Jackson in VT

SHOPPING SMALL

PAGE 38

Therapists ease financial angst

ne thing is certain about Vermont’s 2020 primary election: Sen. Dick Mazza (D-Grand Isle) is going to win by a landslide.

The owner of Dick Mazza’s General Store in Malletts Bay is running unopposed for the Vermont Senate seat he has held since 1985.

His secret? The 80-year-old son of a grocer knows his customers, aka the electorate. His opinions are valued in Montpelier, where Mazza has served as an unofficial consigliere to every Vermont governor in the past four decades.

In a January 26, 2011, profile, Seven Days explained why politicians of all stripes, Democrat and Republican, beat a path to Mazza’s door. U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) noted the “travel marks” of “aspiring … lawmakers seeking an audience with the king maker.”

A slightly different descriptor —“law-abiding godfather” — inspired the cover art for the story.

If you appreciate Seven Days’ political coverage — from Peter Freyne to Paul Heintz — and can afford to help us financially, please become a Seven Days Super Reader.

Your recurring donation will provide a reliable revenue stream to help fund the award-winning journalism we continue to provide during these challenging times.

7D 25

PAGE 44

New series! VT’s general stores

CAN YOU COVER US?

For the past 25 years, our local media company has depended almost entirely on advertising revenue from local retailers and events to pay the bills. Since March, COVID-19 has severely challenged that business model.

To thrive for another 25, we need your help.

JOIN THE SUPER READERS AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM/SUPER-READERS.

Or send a note (and a check) to: Seven Days Super Readers, P.O. Box 1164, Burlington, VT 05402.

NEED MORE INFO? Contact Corey Grenier at 865-1020, ext. 36 or superreaders@sevendaysvt.com.

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

29

BOTTOM LINE

BY KEN PICARD

Packing Green

CHANNEL 1074

A Vermont firm turns junk wood into an eco-friendly windfall

PROMISES OF GOD JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

FRIDAYS > 11:30 A.M. GET MORE INFO OR WATCH ONLINE AT VERMONTCAM.ORG

SHOP

16t-vcam-weekly.indd 1

8/11/20 10:04 AM

LOCAL

and say you saw it in… shoptheregister.com

16t-shoplocal-guy.indd Untitled-1 1 1

4/24/12 3:32 5/12/20 3:56 PM

Plant the scene for your perfect garden party!

Jim and Mary-Ellen Lovinsky

W

Mon-Sat: 8am-4pm Sunday: 10am-4pm 802-453-5382 2638 Ethan Allen Hwy New Haven, VT 05472 greenhavengardensandnursery.com

30

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

8V-greenhaven081220.indd 1

8/7/20 1:17 PM

hen Jim Lovinsky cofounded Sylvacurl of Vermont in 1993, he didn’t envision it as a full-time, year-round job.

Instead, he let the company, which makes and sells an all-natural wood alternative to plastic and polystyrene packing material, grow organically. And for much of its 27 years, Sylvacurl remained a small, mostly seasonal business, ramping up its operations in early fall in preparation for preholiday shipping orders, and then tapering off by mid-January.

But this year, after the pandemic hit and millions of Americans switched from buying consumer items in stores to ordering them online, demand for Sylvacurl’s eco-friendly packaging products exploded six months early.

It began, Lovinsky recalled, with an early spring phone call from one of his largest customers: Greensboro cheesemaker Jasper Hill Farm, which normally restocks its supply of Sylvacurl in August or September.

“All of a sudden I started getting orders from all over the place, which was incredible,” he said. “We had a very good spring.”

Indeed, Sylvacurl’s sales in the first half of 2020 were three times what they were the year before. Lovinsky suspects that much of it was due to consumers, stuck at home and not spending money in restaurants and stores, who began spending their federal stimulus money online.

And as his clients’ internet sales took off, so did Sylvacurl’s.

The idea for the product originated in the early 1990s, Lovinsky explained, about the time when the Champion Lumber Company began scaling back its Vermont timber operations and selling off its vast forest holdings in the Northeast Kingdom.

As the state’s wood products industry started suffering huge losses, Lovinsky — who at the time worked at a wood-turning company — read about wood shavings that were used as bedding material at

racetracks in the South. He researched whether a similar product would work well as a lightweight and sustainable alternative to packing peanuts.

As he discovered, popple, or aspen trees, were ideally suited for this use.

Popple grows quickly and abundantly throughout Vermont but has little market value. Lovinsky’s longtime supplier, Robert Lamarre, at Lamarre’s Sawmill in Brownington, described it as “junk wood” that’s also used to make toothpicks, tongue depressors and pulp for paper. But popple produces consistent white curls that hold their shape well in shipping containers. And, unlike pine and cedar, it has very little scent.

Lovinsky opened a small facility in a building in East Hardwick, which he calls their “shake-and-bake operation.” There, Lamarre’s mill delivers wood blocks that are cut specifically to fit Sylvacurl’s patented processor. The blocks are shaved into curls, shaken to remove sawdust,

baked in dryers, then dumped into a hopper to be bagged and shipped.

Because the curls contain no added chemicals, perfumes or artificial colors, once they’re used as packing material, they can be composted, applied as livestock bedding or spread on gardens. In fact, Lovinsky’s wife and business partner, Mary-Ellen, raises goats and grows garlic commercially and routinely uses the curls for both operations.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Lovinsky recalled, the potpourri industry took a keen interest in Sylvacurl.

Initially they bought it as filler material — that is, until the Southeast Asian market began producing more exotic and cheaper botanicals to replace it.

“Who wants lowly wood curls when they can get that?” Lovinsky said.

However, most of Sylvacurl’s other clients have stuck with him over the years, in large part, he said, because their own customers find them visually appealing and environmentally friendly. These clients include iGourmet, an online food company in West Pittston, Pa. “They order a trailer load, which is 500 bags. That’s big for me,” Lovinsky said.

“Most of my customers order 10 to 30 bags at a time. I even have customers who show up in their car and pick up three or four bags. And that’s fine with me.”

In fact, Lovinsky heard from a woman who had ordered a product from Blanc Creatives, a Sylvacurl client in Charlottesville, Va., that makes hand-forged pots and pans. As he explained, the woman received an order from Blanc Creatives containing Sylvacurl, which she later used to light her barbecue grill. “She liked them so much,” he added, “she ordered a carton.”

Though business is booming and likely to get busier come fall, Sylvacurl hasn’t hired any employees; in fact, much of the time Lovinsky does all of the work himself, with occasional help from family members.

But he still works a full-time job as executive director of the Lamoille Housing Partnership, a Morrisville nonprofit that builds and operates affordable housing. Lovinsky has consulted with the local Small Business Development Center on a transition plan for if and when the time comes to scale up the business. Now 67, he expects to retire soon and devote himself full time to growing Sylvacurl.

“This [pandemic] may accelerate that a little bit,” Lovinsky added. “We’ll see how far it goes.”

Staying Close to Home Can Mean the World Home is the one constant during these times of change. At Saint Michael’s College, you will find a community that goes beyond the classroom and becomes a family. Consider transferring to St. Mike’s — where an inviting community is ready to welcome you with a smooth transition.

This fall, Vermont students can take advantage of the Home State Promise offering a minimum of $25,000 in scholarships and grants.

Students transferring this fall are also eligible for two tuition-free courses offered through our Accelerated Summer College during the summer directly following the semester they enroll.

ATTENTION VERMONTERS Transfer Students can take advantage of:

The Home State Promise Two tuitionfree courses Orientation activities tailored just for you

Keep your education on track and affordable.

Learn more about transferring to St. Mike’s this fall. smcvt.edu/transfer

Contact: ken@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Learn more at sylvacurl.com.

smcvt.edu/transfer | cvega@smcvt.edu | 802.222.8759 34v-StmikesGrad(closetoHome)081220 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

31

8/10/20 8:57 AM

VERMONTING

BY PAMELA POLSTON

The ‘Upper’ Hand Getting down with baking and books, Turkish treats and taxidermy

T

32

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

of us procured a couple of kitchen items.

I snagged a bag of Italian-style flour for a friend who makes his own pasta.

Our next stop was downtown Norwich, specifically the NORWICH BOOKSTORE, which was celebrating its 26th anniversary.

Since big parties are countermanded by the pandemic, owners Liza Bernard and Penny McConnel offered a 20-percent-off sale instead. Supporting local bookstores is always a priority, so I headed there to pick up a few books I’d ordered online.

The store is still closed for in-person shopping, but a brown paper bag, stapled at the top and bearing my name, sat on a table just outside the back door. A masked couple milled about, ostensibly waiting for their called-in order. On the adjacent treelined green, children scampered over plastic playground equipment. If we hadn’t been on a mission, I would have plopped down in the shade to examine my books.

One of them, by New York Times sportswriter Karen Crouse, is titled simply Norwich. It was the subtitle that piqued my

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.

Deer head at Main Street Museum

Heads at Main Street Museum

Bear head at Vermont Antique Mall

PHOTOS: PAMELA POLSTON

he Upper Valley is unique for multiple reasons, and one is that it so easily straddles Vermont and New Hampshire. Perhaps nowhere else in the Green Mountain State do so many residents identify more with their geographical niche than with the insular identity of “Vermonter.”

Rob Gurwitt, who lives in Norwich, has been writing Monday-through-Friday newsletters called Daybreak Upper Valley for and about the area for 17 months. “At some point after arriving here,” he told Seven Days in an email, “I began to think of the Upper Valley as a single sprawling ‘city’ with different neighborhoods. People cross state lines every day to go to some ‘neighborhood’ or other that has what they want.”

Though the designation Upper Valley extends farther in all directions, I think primarily of the cluster of Norwich and White River Junction, Vt., and Hanover and Lebanon, N.H., as the “UV.” As Gurwitt pointed out, many Vermonters work at or otherwise benefit from major institutions across the border, including Dartmouth College and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock medical center, the Lebanon Opera House, AVA Gallery and Art Center, and a couple of shopping malls. There are even interstate high schools. The area’s daily newspaper, the Valley News, covers both states and maintains physical offices in Lebanon and a mailing address in White River Junction.

Since this series is called Vermonting, my travel companion and I opted to stay on the Green Mountain side of the Connecticut River on our recent Saturday excursion. Our destinations were Norwich, White River Junction and Quechee. The trip turned out to involve a little more shopping and less communing with nature than we had planned.

Our first stop was KING ARTHUR BAKING in Norwich, where we figured a croissant and a cup of coffee would reward our 90-minute drive from Burlington. King Arthur’s recently reopened HQ is akin to the Holy Grail for home bakers, and, as I had jumped on the sourdough bandwagon during the lockdown, my interest in flour could be described as peak devotional. (The company’s meteoric national rise was the subject of a June 24 cover story in this paper.)

The store was of less interest to my companion — who called it, punningly, a “white-bread experience” — but both

Dining on a croissant at King Arthur Baking’s outdoor plaza

Back door and book pickup at Norwich Bookstore

Spice bins at Little Istanbul

In the “more” category is the inimitable Currently closed for renovations, it’s due to reopen in November. (Don’t believe the website, which is perpetually outdated.) But I had called founder-proprietor David Fairbanks Ford in advance to see if he’d allow us a little tour. He said yes.

As he’d warned, the front of the quirky, cabinet-of-curiosities-style venue was under considerable construction. Ford pointed out some of his own handiwork: an elaborate frame for a doorway, an exhibition pedestal, buffed flooring. In more congenial times, the space hosts parties, musical performances and film nights.

My companion still got a taste of Ford’s distinctive acquisitions, and his taxonomies thereof. Jumbled in the back we found stuffed creatures, bizarre assortments of bones, pop culture items, creepy toys and treasures that less discerning eyes might have mistaken for trash. It’s a collection that U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) once called “White River Junction’s answer to the Library of Congress.”

Contemplating the insatiable human desire to collect things made us want to eat lunch, so we ambled over to TUCKERBOX. (WRJ is the ne plus ultra in walkability.) The Turkish-Mediterranean restaurant serves both outdoors and in, with enough room to socially distance the diners. The mezze platter called my name, just as it always does at Tuckerbox’s sister restaurant in Burlington, Istanbul Kebab House. My friend ordered a Turkish pastirma and salad.

This sustenance fueled our stroll on the rectangle of small shops that constitutes much of downtown. We stopped at SCAVENGER GALLERY to say hi to owner and jewelry designer Stacy Hopkins and gawk at her latest creations. Inspired by the natural world, Hopkins makes rings, bangles, necklaces and more from various metals in the shapes of beetles, raptor talons, tiny critter skeletons and botanical elements.

Her interest isn’t just aesthetic; sales of Hopkins’ Endangered Collection, for MAIN STREET MUSEUM.

Mezze platter at Tuckerbox

Toys in the Vermont Antique Mall

IN THE AREA •

CENTER FOR CARTOON STUDIES,

• • •

HOTEL COOLIDGE, hotelcoolidge.com JAG PRODUCTIONS, jagproductionsvt.com JUEL MODERN APOTHECARY CAFÉ,

cartoonstudies.org

juelmodernapothecary.com •

KING ARTHUR BAKING COMPANY,

• • •

LITTLE ISTANBUL, littleistanbulgifts.com LONG RIVER GALLERY, longrivergallery.com MAIN STREET MUSEUM,

•

MONTSHIRE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE,

• •

NORTHERN STAGE, northernstage.org NORWICH BOOKSTORE,

kingarthurbaking.com

mainstreetmuseum.org montshire.org

• • • • • • • •

norwichbookstore.com NORWICH INN, norwichinn.com PIECEMEAL PIES, piecemealpies.com REVOLUTION, shoptherev.com SCAVENGER GALLERY, Facebook SIMON PEARCE, simonpearce.com TUCKERBOX, tuckerboxvermont.com TWO RIVERS PRINTMAKING STUDIO, tworiversprintmaking.org VERMONT ANTIQUE MALL, vermontantiquemall.com

•

VERMONT INSTITUTE OF NATURAL SCIENCE,

• • •

VERMONT SALVAGE, vermontsalvage.com VERMONT SPIRITS, vermontspirits.com WE THE PEOPLE THEATRE,

•

ZUZU’S, Facebook

vinsweb.org

wethepeopletheatre.com

interest: One Tiny Vermont Town’s Secret to Happiness and Excellence. Turns out that it slightly oversells what is actually an ode to parenting — specifically, parenting athletic kids.

“In Norwich, kids aren’t cut from teams.

They don’t specialize in a single sport, and they even root for their rivals,” the book’s cover copy gushes. “What’s more, their hands-off parents encourage them to simply enjoy themselves. Yet this village of roughly three thousand residents has won three Olympic medals and sent an athlete to almost every Winter Olympics for the past thirty years.”

Gee. Even if the assertion that local adults are uniformly well-balanced seems suspect, there’s no denying those stats. None of this athletic dominance was evident in lovely, well-kept Norwich, a quintessential New England village. But one likes a town that doesn’t boast.

We were soon distracted by an arty little clothing/jewelry/gift boutique adjacent to the bookstore: ZUZU’S. Co-owner Eileen McHugh was on hand to assist us with our shopping desires. Both of us wanted to stock up on birthday presents, and after nearly five months of pandemic-induced anxiety, it was a pleasure to browse in leisure and look at pretty things. The obligatory hand sanitizer even smelled good.

On to White River Junction, one of my favorite Vermont towns. My companion hadn’t been there in many years, so I was delighted to show her how much it had changed. For starters, the tiny burg of 2,286 is now arty AF, home to the CENTER FOR CARTOON STUDIES, three theater companies — NORTHERN STAGE, JAG PRODUCTIONS and WE THE PEOPLE THEATRE — a couple of art galleries, several design firms, a printmaking studio, and more.

example, benefit conservation efforts in a fragile ecosystem in Costa Rica.

My companion purchased a tiny, volcanic-looking ceramic bowl lined with gold, created by Scavenger Gallery artist Cristina Salusti of Woodstock. Another birthday present.

Our urban circumambulation also brought us to REVOLUTION, a shop that sells mostly hip, upcycled clothing, and to the import shop LITTLE ISTANBUL, where colorful bins of spices such as sumac, Marash pepper and “Vural’s Blend” tickled our noses.

We passed the VILLAGE AT WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, a new five-story, cutting-edge eldercare facility next door to Northern Stage.

“If something like that exists in downtown Burlington when I’m 90, I would move in,” I declared.

We ended up back at Tuckerbox, got a couple of iced lattes and baklava for the road, and headed to Quechee.

Our original to-do list included visits to the raptors and the forest canopy walk at the VERMONT INSTITUTE OF NATURAL SCIENCE; to SIMON PEARCE, the glassmaking studio, shop and restaurant complex on the beautiful Ottauquechee River; and to the dramatic, 165-foot-deep QUECHEE GORGE. At that point in the day, though, both of us agreed our itinerary had been too ambitious; we would save these destinations for another trip.

We settled for a spin around the capacious VERMONT ANTIQUE MALL, just a hop down Route 4 from the gorge. But, after all the things we’d seen and purchased, nothing from those collections of yesteryear spoke to us.

Well, one snarly bear head did seem to be saying something. Maybe he would be happier in the Main Street Museum?

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 AUGUST 12-19, 2020

33

Runaway Mom

Makenna Goodman discusses her debut novel about working the land, social media and more B Y J I M SCHL EY

N

ear the beginning of Makenna Goodman’s new novel, The Shame, a young mother drives through the night, fleeing her husband and children and their home in the woods. Alma loves her family but struggles with the duties of marriage and parenting. And she resists the expectation that adulthood means taming your freedom and creativity.

Goodman’s brief novel is like a mosaic of compressed interludes, with jumpy tonal shifts and swivels in time. Embedded in the narrative are miniature essays, akin to journal entries or blog posts, on topics such as house cleaning, dinner parties and online shopping.

Seven Days spoke by phone with Goodman from her home in Vershire, a town she first came to know as a teenager while attending the Mountain School.

Explaining her novel’s unusual texture and pacing, she said, “I’m interested in patterns in nature, and how they’re not linear — mostly not — but episodic and meandering and fractal. I also think that’s the way the mind works, and the way memory and time work.”

Alma’s voice roams among questions, never coming to rest. These ponderings and recollections reverberate as flashbacks in the mind of that solitary woman driving through the night.

The Shame is Goodman’s first novel, but she’s no newcomer to publishing. She has worked in New York City for Grand Central Publishing and an international literary agency. After moving to Vermont in 2009, she worked for 10 years as an editor at White River Junction-based Chelsea Green Publishing, specializing in books about agriculture, food and health.

Alma and her husband, Asa, are hyperenthusiastic do-it-yourselfers: They grow, bake and preserve their own food; tap their maples; and raise animals. Asked whether her aim was to bring to the page a kind of person she’s known in Vermont, Goodman responded, “I didn’t set out to write a story about something or someone, but when I realized I was writing about this woman, I did draw on what I’m engaged in and passionate about.

“I do a lot of those things with my husband on our land,” she continued. “I live in a community where a lot of our neighbors do these things. And, as an editor, my job was to sniff out the interesting people who are developing the 34

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

BOOKS

Makenna Goodman

THE LOVELIEST PASSAGES IN THE BOOK ARE PASTORAL,

PRECISE AND LYRICAL EVOCATIONS OF THE FAMILY’S UNFOLDING DAYS ON THE LAND. shape-shifting, edge-pushing agricultural techniques that are going to change farming.”

In recent years, Goodman has witnessed big changes in land ownership and

farming practices as an older generation gives way to newcomers. “I’d watched the dwindling of these old family farms, which had been here since the turn of the previous century, supporting families with their 30 head of cattle and their vegetable gardens and their haymaking,” she said.

“And I saw the number of young, upwardly mobile, progressive, agrarian, environmentalist, utopian-thinking people moving to Vermont and starting their own businesses that were branded as green.”

Her fictional back-to-the-landers are novice farmers, and Goodman acknowledged complicated feelings about the relationships among labor, land and money.

“What is work? What is ‘honest work,’ and what is needed for survival?”

Goodman asked. “If you don’t need to make much money, or you’re like me, with a day job so I could make decent Vermont money and homestead on the side, is that farming?”

Along with the couple’s many homesteading ventures, Alma works part time as a textbook indexer while painting and writing when there’s an unclaimed half hour. She wonders whether the art she expected to be pivotal in her life has become merely a hobby.

As she wrote The Shame, Goodman said, she thought about “the performance of ethical living.” Similarly, her novel’s narrator grapples with questions of right livelihood.

On an impulse, Alma applies for a job writing and illustrating an ecological storybook to be used as a giveaway by a toy company. Offered $40,000 for the work, she’s halted by ambivalence, wondering whether it’s legitimate to make money so easily.

“Alma is offered an easy-breezy $40K to do something that she thinks is stupid but that would give her something she needs,” Goodman said. “She is thinking, I choose to live outside the structures of commodity! I choose not to write the toy book, to choose art over advertising! I choose what’s real, what’s authentic, what’s close to the land!

And yet, does life have to be hard to be meaningful?”

Instead of doing the mercenary ecokids book, Alma decides to write a novel.

While searching online for a model for her protagonist, she begins following a Brooklyn artist she calls Celeste. This person has created an elaborate, all-encompassing digital “presence” with constant postings and a webcam that allows viewers to see what she is doing, saying, wearing, eating.

Alma becomes obsessed, and she presents herself to Celeste as a fascinating stranger and prospective employee.

“When can we meet?” Celeste responds. That’s when Alma gets in her car and heads for the city, bewitched by makebelieve. There’s a fairy tale quality to the novel’s “runaway mom” premise, Alma’s impetuous escape from the exhausting predictability of home. But who hasn’t wondered what might have been?

Goodman compared the connection between Alma and Celeste to the myth of Eros and Psyche. She said she used Alma’s car trip as a way of framing and “tying the story together, but also to show the moment when someone makes a snap

Having someone here helps me care for my dog. behind agriculture and social movements.

I was so fascinated by microorganisms and the concepts of regenerative agriculture. When I think about art, I think about soil.”

The loveliest passages in the book are pastoral, precise and lyrical evocations of the family’s unfolding days on the land:

FROM THE SHAME How did I get here? Who registered my car? Who scrambled my eggs, took me to the dentist, made corn on the cob, refrigerated the butter?

I dive into the pond but emerge the same person. I push around the shopping cart, and another woman’s hands grab the granola. I am Asa’s wife. I want to go to a party, he doesn’t. So I stay home. I want to go to a town meeting, he doesn’t; I go but then come up with an excuse to leave early and drive home fast on icy roads. He turns over in bed snoring the second the light goes out, I lie there staring at the dark air above my head … Maybe if I were fifty-two, had a miniature poodle, were a famous painter with a yellow sports car and a rubber plant in a giant pot and a coffee table covered with elaborate silver teaware. Not in this life, Asa says. You married the wrong person. Oh, but what the fuck does he know, with his elbow patches? I can reupholster the couch, I can adopt a puppy, I can wear whatever I want, do whatever I want to do with whomever I want to do it. Maybe if I wrote a successful novel, I would go to Paris to celebrate, dance on tables and smoke a pipe.

decision. You’re suspended in an ether.

The whole universe and all possible universes exist in that moment.”

For her, Goodman said, reading and writing are inseparable. “I’ve always been constantly reading,” she said. When reading for her work as an editor, “I was consumed with learning about the passing of the seasons, and growing things and making things … the philosophy

There is no end to the abundance of the garden. The kids wander through the hay-mulched pathways, helping themselves to cherry tomatoes and snap peas, eating the leaves off baby kale, pulling out a carrot half-covered in beautiful black dirt. They are mudstained. They shit on the edges of the lawn and flick it into the woods with sticks. They are exhausted by nightfall, sweating, splayed out on their beds like drunk cherubs.

Why call her novel The Shame?

“I was talking on the phone with a writer friend about social media, describing that feeling you have when you’re scrolling through image after image after image of lives you could have led, people you could have been,” Goodman said.

“Children who seem happier than your children, or vacations you can’t afford. And I said, ‘It’s just the shame! The shame, the shame!’ And she said, ‘There’s your title.’”

Alma is entranced by a beguiling on-screen chimera, and in the vertigo of fascination she’s willing to cast away her actual home and family for what looks wilder and freer and more complete. She tumbles into the web’s vortex, only to come to her senses in the nick of time.

“With social media, so much mental and creative energy is going into the creation of public personas interacting with other public personas,” Goodman continued. “Think of the weight that’s been put on this universe of the internet.

I’ve found, because I’ve engaged in it here and there, that it’s really sapping creatively, and really alienating. I wanted to write a book about that.”

INFO The Shame by Makenna Goodman, Milkweed Editions, 160 pages. $15.

Goodman gives an online reading with Miciah Bay Gault on Wednesday, August 19, 7 p.m., at Bear Pond Books in Montpelier. RSVP at bearpondbooks.com.

HOMESHARE Bringing Vermonters together to share homes

863-5625 • HomeShareVermont.org

o w n WHAT?

Untitled-5 1

8/10/20 8:47 AM

STAY SAFE, STAY ACTIVE The Seven Days team has reenvisioned our weekly Notes On the Weekend newsletter to include creative, constructive and fun ways to spend your time from a safe social distance.

From drive-in movies to delicious recipes to day trips, there is something for everyone asking, “NOW what?”

S U B S C R IB E AT S EV EN DAYS V T.C OM 4t-Now0720.indd 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

35

7/14/20 5:36 PM

Strange as Fiction Jay Parini takes readers on a true ride in Borges and Me B Y S A LLY POL L AK

SEVEN DAYS: Your trip with Borges was an eventful week. It was also rich in discussion of literature — Walt Whitman, Dante, Cervantes, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, a mention of Robert Frost. When were you able to assimilate the experience and make sense of it as it would fit into your life over the next half century?

JAY PARINI: I think Borges introduced me to the notion that a person could read literature — poetry and fiction and philosophy and history, from a wide range 36

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

OLIVER PARINI

J

ay Parini, a longtime professor of English and creative writing at Middlebury College, is the author of more than 20 books, including poetry, fiction, biography and criticism.

Next week, Parini, 72, will publish his first memoir, Borges and Me: An Encounter.

The book is centered on a 1971 road trip that Parini took with Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges through the Scottish Highlands. At the time, Parini was a 22-year-old graduate student at the University of St. Andrews. Borges, 50 years his senior, was one of the great literary figures of the 20th century. He was blind, talkative, vital — and up for adventure.

Parini and Borges met through a mutual friend, Scottish poet and Borges translator Alastair Reid. Reid had to leave town one day unexpectedly and asked Parini to stay with Borges at his house. When Parini dutifully arrived, Borges suggested the two hit the road.

Driving through Scotland in Parini’s 1957 Morris Minor, the traveling duo drank beer at pubs, went boating in Loch Ness, visited a library and a battlefield, and talked about books and women. Throughout, Parini was called on to describe the passing scene to his blind companion.

“As we climbed into the hills, I could feel the tug of the sky, and the heathery rolling valleys and spiky peaks in the distance moved me,” Parini writes. “Now I wanted, more than ever, to write about this, to find the equivalence in language for what broke around me, here and always.”

Borges and Me is a fascinating recounting of Parini’s long-ago trip and a tribute to a time whose totems, the author reminds us, include hash brownies and draft board letters.

Parini talked with Seven Days by telephone about fact, fiction and how that road trip influenced his life.

BOOKS

Jay Parini

of cultures — and make it part of your life.

The way he incorporated all of [his] reading into his life made an impression on me. I kind of determined to live that way myself.

He came at me like a blast. Growing up in Scranton [Pa.], I had never encountered anything like this. It was like a meteor suddenly swooping out of the sky and landing on me. I was 22 going on 15, if you know what I mean. It was really wild.

I started telling those stories [of the trip] almost immediately. I’ve been telling these stories for 50 years, and the truth is, I wasn’t sure how or if I would ever write them. It seemed almost too much to think about. And I wasn’t sure I could properly do justice to it. It seemed more like a sequence of anecdotes that I could tell at dinner parties.

SD: How did you decide the material should be a memoir as opposed to a novel, which was your original choice for the book?

JP: I was chatting about it with my editor at Doubleday, and I sent him a little piece of it as I was writing it. I was calling the main character “Luke,” not Jay. And he

said to me, “How much of this is fiction, not fact?” And I said, “Well, it’s all fact.

But I just don’t want to have the spotlight shined on me.” And he said, “That’s what happens when you write a memoir.”

He said: “Be bold. Write as yourself.

You’re a good storyteller. Just write as though you’re talking at your dinner table.”

And that’s what I tried to do.

SD: There’s discussion in the book of the invention, by writers, of literary voice or character. Borges cites Whitman, who he says “created … an ideal projection, not of himself but someone like him, a character every reader could find in his heart and admire.” You considered whether your work would involve “an invented Jay Parini” or you would attempt to put forth the “truest version” of yourself.

What choice did you make and why?

JP: It wasn’t possible to get at anything resembling the self that I feel inside me without using all of the smoke and mirrors of fiction. So I had to use all of the techniques that a novelist uses to evoke character, even to evoke myself.

I had to create a voice for myself at 22.

We change over the decades. It’s not a question of remembering what I was like at 22. It’s not just that. It’s also a question of inventing and creating a facsimile of that that was satisfying and feels true. I was the last 22-year-old virgin in the Age of Aquarius, and I enjoyed saying that.

I THINK THE HERO OF MY BOOK IS NOT ME, AND IT’S NOT BORGES. IT’S SCOTLAND. JAY PA R I N I

The book begins in 1986, [when] I’m already a professor at Middlebury. I’m already beginning my research and making notes about The Last Station [Parini’s 1990 novel about Leo Tolstoy]. I wanted to signal from the beginning that I think of myself as a writer who’s had an ongoing career.

[Borges] so impressed me with his travels. He had just come from Israel.

He said, “Go on the road as a young man, while you have your eyes. See everything you can. Listen to all the voices you possibly can.” I’ve spent the last 50 years reading and traveling and listening and writing in many genres, [with] poetry always the main thing.

Borges was a great lover of encyclopedias. I took that to heart. I edited the Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature.

I’ve written or edited 50 books. So I’ve written a lot of stuff. Volume doesn’t mean anything, really. My habitual work has yielded quite a lot of stuff, some of it good, some of it not so good. We’re all uneven.

Borges wasn’t uneven, but I’m very uneven.

SD: In the afterword, you write that you returned to writing this book after a filmmaker suggested it would make a good movie. Who would you like to see play “Giuseppe,” as Borges called you, and who Borges?

JP: I was sitting in a small village in southern Italy [in 2017] with the English filmmaker Ross Clarke and the producer Andy Paterson. Ross pulled from his briefcase Labyrinths by Borges. And I said, “Oh, do you like Borges?” And he said, “I love Borges. He’s my favorite writer.” And I said, “Let me tell you a little story.”

And at that lunch I told him about my crazy car trip with Borges 50 years earlier. And they were both looking rather dumbfounded as they heard my stories.

Ross turned to Andy and said, “That’s our next film.” And I said, “Let me see if I can shape it for you.” I was thinking I’d write a 40-page, 50-page [account] remembering my journey. And it just exploded.

We’re about to begin casting. Freya Mavor, she’s wonderful; she’s going to play Bella [Parini’s love interest]. We’re certainly going to be showing it to Timothée Chalamet [for the role of Parini].

And for Borges we have various people in mind; one of them is Benicio del Toro.

SD: You’re the age Borges was when you guys took your trip in Scotland.

Can you imagine the reverse of this adventure occurring today: You and a graduate student you don’t know (prior to the trip) bopping around heather and gorse?

JP: It sounds to me too improbable.

Borges had to be blind to require my presence. I suspect the stories he told, he told everybody: his endless, ongoing commentary on Don Quixote and Robert Louis Stevenson and [Rudyard] Kipling.

These were all stories he no doubt had running in his head like a tape that he would just keep saying.

This only happened because there was a strange coincidence. The stars lined up in a very unique alignment: me with my innocence and my American [sensibility], and Borges with his wild handicap, the blindness, and his polymathic mind and the circumstances of Scotland.

I think the hero of my book is not me, and it’s not Borges. It’s Scotland. I spent seven years in Scotland, and I love that country. I retraced that route again and again and again.

SD: Borges and Me is great title, a clever one. How did you think of it?

JP: My favorite story of Borges is called “Borges y Yo” [“Borges and I”].

So I thought, Let’s just slightly shift to American grammar and make it more colloquial. I’m playing off his title. I felt lucky: There, I got it!

SD: You quote Borges in the book: “Nobody can teach you anything.

This is the first truth. We teach ourselves.” You’ve taught in the English department at Middlebury College for about 40 years. What do you think of his contention?

JP: I think that it’s 100 percent true. If people are going to know anything, they have to teach themselves. The teacher — like me, I’ve been teaching now for 47 years — I’ve led a lot of horses to water.

That’s my job: Endlessly taking [students] by the reins, leading them down the slope to the pond or the river.

“Here’s the water. I know you’re thirsty even if you don’t know it. Drink.” That’s the work of teaching.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Untitled-1 1

8/10/20 3:33 PM

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 View Activities at

GOODCITIZENVT.COM Powered by:

With support from:

Contact: sally@sevendaysvt.com

INFO

Evslin Family Foundation

Borges and Me: An Encounter by Jay Parini, Doubleday, 320 pages. $27.95.

3V-GoodCitizen071520.indd 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

37

7/14/20 12:29 PM

Mirna Valerio is a fat runner.

She prefers the word “fat” to “plus-size,” “overweight” or “curvy,” none of which accurately describes her experience of her body. In August 2011, she started a blog called Fat Girl Running, a title she chose as both a rebuke to diet culture and a simple statement of fact.

Valerio had no interest in contributing to the self-loathing, stereotype-perpetuating weight-loss genre. “I have never really been super self-conscious about my body type throughout the years, except for maybe in middle school — when I did get called a ‘fat bitch’ on ‘National Butt Day’ by this very short, popular kid in eighth grade,” she wrote in her first post, titled “This Is Not a Weight Loss Blog.”

Instead, Valerio wrote about sports bras that minimized painful boob-jiggle; seams that chafed and seams that didn’t; socks that kept her feet dry and blister-free on wet, muddy race courses. She recorded her triumphs and her disappointments; she

extolled the virtues of jalapeño-flavored Kettle chips as a pick-me-up during a 100-kilometer race in the Arizona desert.

She didn’t write to convince anyone that fat people deserved to be taken seriously as athletes, and she didn’t run for any reason other than her own personal fulfillment.

Valerio, 44, who lives in Montpelier, has completed 11 marathons and 14 ultramarathons — races of more than 26.2 miles — in a body that defies the culturally constructed image of an endurance athlete. In the nine years since she launched her blog, she has become an icon in a space where virtually nobody else looks like her.

In 2017, Valerio landed on the cover of Runner’s World magazine; in 2018, National Geographic named her its “Adventurer of the Year.” She’s famous enough that she occasionally gets stopped on Stowe Pinnacle and on the streets of Montpelier. A few years ago, at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, someone

bellowed at her as she walked to her gate: “MIRNA!” (To hear this in your head properly, it’s pronounced MUR-na.)

Over the last decade, the outdoor recreation industry has drawn criticism for projecting a narrow image — thin, white and usually male — of who qualifies as a “serious” adventurer, who deserves to wear wicking apparel, who belongs in wild places at all. As a fat Black woman, Valerio belongs to a demographic that doesn’t typically see itself reflected in outdoor media.

In her 2014 book, Black Faces, White Spaces, Carolyn Finney, a scholar-in-residence at Middlebury College’s Franklin Environmental Center, quantified the dearth of images of people of color in natural settings in a survey of 44 issues of Outside magazine published between 1991 and 2001. Finney found that “the majority of the pictures of African Americans were black males participating in sports activities, primarily running or basketball, in an urban setting.” There were almost no images of Black women, except for track athletes Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Florence Griffith Joyner.

Valerio is well acquainted with the stigma of taking up space. “I become emotionally drained by living in a body

whose shape is assumed to be the product of indolence, letting myself go (whatever that means), lack of self-control, intellectual and moral inferiority,” she wrote in her 2018 memoir, A Beautiful Work in Progress. “I am complex. I am more than what my body suggests to others visually.”

In the midst of a national reckoning with racism that has underscored the perils of being outside while Black — Ahmaud Arbery, shot by white men in February while jogging through a southern Georgia neighborhood; Christian Cooper, subjected to a false police report while bird-watching in New York City’s Central Park — the precariousness of the space Valerio occupies has become more visible than ever.

NO PAIN, NO GAIN

Valerio grew up in a housing project in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Her running career began on the streets of her neighborhood, where she and her brother, Duke; her sister, Allie; and a gaggle of assorted cousins would play tag up and down the block almost every night until after dark.

Her mother, Joann, took care of the family and did odd jobs; her stepfather,

M I R N A VA L ER I O

Mirna on the Corral Canyon Trail in Malibu, Calif.

38

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

JAMES KAO FOTO

I am more than what my body suggests to others visually.

JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

OUTDOOR VOICE Montpelier endurance athlete and advocate Mirna Valerio is taking up space

Allen, worked in the laundry facilities of a hospital in Brooklyn. Valerio’s biological father, a merchant seaman from Honduras, had a limited presence in her early life; in addition to Valerio, he had 13 other children in “ports all over the world,” as she likes to joke. When she was growing up, he visited occasionally and wrote her letters. She liked his worldly mystique.

Valerio’s family didn’t have a lot of money and sometimes needed public assistance to get by. Her mother and her aunt Sherry, the heroines of Valerio’s childhood, would sacrifice their own needs to ensure that their family could eat. In her memoir, Valerio described their inseparability, their matching slow, ponderous gaits: “As kids, we made fun of how slowly [my mother] and aunt Sherry walked everywhere. An errand to the supermarket on Knickerbocker Avenue sometimes took hours ... On their walks they would

compare notes on the kids and other subjects in their lives: who was being bad in school, who was excelling … which man had upset or abandoned them … who was pregnant again, whose asthma was still acting up.”

Sherry, who suffered from severe hypertension, died of a massive heart attack at the age of 37, when Valerio was a teenager.

Her mother, who is still alive, struggles with diabetes and hypertension.

Valerio was a good student and an avid reader. One day, her stepfather brought home a massive tome on internal medicine that he had found at the hospital; Valerio read the book cover to cover more than once. For a time, she was set on becoming a doctor because of her family’s history of diabetes and other chronic health problems. She went to a Pentecostal church, but by the time she was a teenager, she’d read the Bible several times and decided she didn’t agree with most of it.

Starting in adolescence, Valerio was on the heavier side. The summer before she entered ninth grade, a doctor told her that she was obese and needed to lose weight.

“It stung,” Valerio wrote in her memoir. “It was so clinical, so dry yet judgmental and ultimately unhelpful.”

But his pronouncement didn’t destroy the sense of pride she felt in her body: “I could have let those words feel heavy, like a life sentence, sitting on top of me like the elephant on the woman’s chest in those COPD commercials … but I didn’t.”

In middle school, Valerio enrolled in Prep 9, a program that places highachieving students of color in New York City at private schools throughout the Northeast. She was accepted at the Masters School, an all-girls boarding school in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. There, she discovered field hockey — and that she loved running, even if she was the slowest one on the team.

B Y C HEL S EA ED G A R

Valerio also discovered that she could sing — like, really, really sing. On weekends, she took the train into Manhattan for lessons at the Juilliard School. She ended up attending the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, where she studied music and Spanish.

After college, Valerio had a brief stint at the accounting firm KPMG, then as a paralegal at a New York City law firm, neither of which she found particularly fulfilling.

But both jobs afforded her a financial cushion, something she’d never had growing up. That stability allowed her, among other things, to purchase a gym membership and join a running clinic. Valerio recounts in her memoir that when she bought her first running shoes, a $35 pair of Adidas, the salesperson looked her up and down (it had already been enough of an ordeal to get him to find her a size 11) and asked, snarkily, “‘How many miles do you run on a daily basis?’”

OUTDOOR VOICE SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

» P.40 39

Outdoor Voice « P.39 Haters notwithstanding, Valerio ran 5 and 10Ks. She also met her husband, Cito Nikiema, while waiting for the subway one blizzardy night; the two had a son, Rashid, in 2003. Over the next few years, Valerio led a peripatetic and not terribly healthy lifestyle. She moved from New York to Baltimore to teach at a private school, then to central New Jersey to work at a boarding school. Nikiema drove tow trucks and semis for a living, and their schedules rarely lined up.

At the same time, Valerio was in grad school, teaching private music lessons to clients in Maryland on weekends and

at lunch and tennis with her coworkers after classes were finished. She posted on Facebook about her milestones: “Missed the police escort by about 6 people today at the Westfield Turkey Trot. It’s gettin’ better!”; “Finally finished a half in under three hours!”; “Major, MAJOR plateau. Ugh!”; “Is officially under 250. OFFICIALLY! Now for that Philly cheesesteak … JK!” In the summer of 2011, shortly after launching her blog, Valerio ran in the North Face Endurance Challenge, a half marathon just outside of Washington, D.C. In her blog post recounting the race, she wrote: “Here was me, anxiously looking for any Clydesdale/Athena types who might also be taking the plunge with

IN HER ELEMENT

At 7:30 on a Saturday morning in late July, I met Valerio for a walk in the woods near downtown Montpelier. Her left meniscus has been giving her grief for the past few months, which means she has had to give up running — not that she has any races to train for, because the pandemic has canceled everything for the foreseeable future.

If this were a normal, non-crankymeniscus year, she would have been in Colorado preparing for her fourth go at the TransRockies, a six-day, 120-mile race with 20,000 feet of elevation gain. When Valerio ran TransRockies for the first time, in 2017, she DNF’ed — runnerspeak for “did not finish” — exiting the course

In her Merrell hiking shoes, Valerio stands five foot seven but somehow seems taller. This illusion has everything to do with her voice, which is so clear and reverberant that it seems like it must be coming from surround-sound speakers at least three feet above you. (In fact, Valerio can sing opera in more than half a dozen languages.)

She laughs easily and often, both to express amusement and for general emphasis, such as when, while adjusting her Leki trekking poles, she summed up what the last few months have been like for her: “One minute, I had all this work, and then the next minute, everything was canceled,” she said. “And then, racism happened — ha-HA! — and now, I’m

photos A selection of Valerio’s Instagram

raising Rashid, who was often sick with bronchitis and rarely slept through the night. Her weight rose to nearly 300 pounds, the heaviest she had ever been.

In 2008, while driving home with Rashid from Maryland to central New Jersey from one of her clients’ houses, Valerio felt a sharp, stabbing sensation in her chest. She managed to get home, fighting through waves of pain and panic, and called a colleague from school to take her to the emergency room.

The episode turned out not to have been a heart attack, but her lab results showed that she was at high risk of a major cardiac episode. A few days later, her doctor told her that if she wanted to see her son grow up, she would have to drastically change her lifestyle and lose weight.

Valerio had never felt compelled to shed pounds for the sake of changing her appearance, but the idea of not being around for her son shook her into motion. She signed up for 5Ks and made a point of exercising every day, multiple times a day — a three-mile run in the morning, followed by a high-intensity interval training class, lifting weights 40

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

me … I do this at every race, look for the fat people. I always wonder what their journey is, and how it has been for them.

I wonder what running means to them?

Is it a means to lose weight? Are they intent on changing their physical and ultimately emotional lives? Did someone drag them here? And most importantly, will I be able to PASS them and leave them in my fat dust?”

Things went well until somewhere after mile 3.5, when Valerio rolled her left ankle so hard that the runner behind her heard it pop. Briefly, she thought about quitting, but another impulse prevailed: “I imagined the potential scene back at the finish area: me being helped out of the medic’s ATV. Fat girl limping. NO THANKS,” she wrote. “I had to do this for fat people. I had to do this for me. And I had to finish because I didn’t want anybody thinking that the fat girl couldn’t do it.”

She hobbled back onto the course, her whole body throbbing in pain. In the last mile and a half, enraged at the approaching footfalls of the woman behind her, Valerio dug deep to hold her lead and finished second to last.

She makes me want to take up more space.

MAX J E NNINGS

after 75 miles and 14,250 vertical feet. In 2018, she did the whole thing. That year, said Valerio, a Black woman messaged her to tell her she’d signed up for the race because of her.

We met at the entrance to the Sparrow Farm Trail, a 2.8-mile mountain biking path that has become one of Valerio’s favorite outdoor haunts. She got out of her beige Jeep SUV and took a long, deep sniff of the morning air.

“Look at that,” she said, gesturing at the open field below the dirt road where we had parked our cars. The fog was beginning to rise from the hills beyond the meadow. “When that lifts, you can see the summit of Camel’s Hump.”

spending all my time teaching people how not to be assholes — HA!” Valerio is a hard-core morning person — when she was teaching, she would often get up at 4:30 a.m. to squeeze in her mileage. But part of the reason we had planned to meet early was to make sure she could get home in time to lead an anti-racism webinar on Zoom starting at 10 a.m. That Saturday morning session was the second of three she planned to host; the first, she said, drew more than 150 participants.

We set out on the trail, descending into the spicy-sweet smell of wet grass.

At a wetland crossing, Valerio directed my attention to the ferns preening voluptuously along the edges of the boardwalk.

“Just take in that beauty,” she said. “So your other job is to take pictures of me, because whenever someone goes hiking or running with me, I gotta have photos.”

The photos aren’t really for her, but for her 110,000 Instagram followers. On social media, Valerio goes by “the Mirnavator,” a moniker coined by a former school colleague in honor of Valerio’s inexhaustible energy. Valerio shifted her weight from one leg to the other, pulling her baby blue sweat-wicking top over her

compression tights. “Gotta make sure my fat’s even!” she said. She wasn’t being selfdeprecating or searching for validation (“Stop, you’re not fat!”); she was simply asserting her body as it is, without shame or apology.

I took a few vertical shots to capture her entire outfit, from her blue-andgreen plaid bandana — sewn by her cycling coach, Max Jennings, who works at Onion River Outdoors — down to the Merrells. Then we followed the trail around the edge of the meadow and into a forest of old-growth hemlocks, where the sunlight filtered through the branches in columns of pale gold. As we crossed a bridge over a stream, Valerio pointed to a spot on the banks where

advantage of the school’s flexibility. So she submitted her resignation and went on the road, running races and doing an insane number of media appearances. In 2019, Valerio persuaded Rashid, a rising junior at Rabun Gap, to embark with her on a year of “unschooling.”

They went to Los Angeles, where Valerio appeared on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” then to a trail-running retreat in Mexico’s Sierra Tarahumara, where Rashid went missing for three hours in the Copper Canyons. (He had wandered ahead of the pack and was completely fine.) Then they went to New York, where Valerio ran the New York City marathon. Then they traveled to Bermuda, where she ran a half marathon in an event called the Bermuda

week, she’d rented one; a month later, she made it her official base camp. “I just really, really felt it,” she said. “It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

Valerio has since moved to a twobedroom apartment on Main Street, which, she said, is still too small for her rapidly expanding fleet of gear. Rashid lives with her; her husband divides his time between Montpelier, New York City and Burkina Faso, his home country, where he runs a computer hardware company.

The long-distance arrangement isn’t new for them, said Valerio — they haven’t lived together since she started teaching in Georgia in 2013. “It’s complicated,” she said. “You don’t go into a marriage think-

on how to expand his side business — he sews bandanas, which she has sported in nearly all of her recent Instagram photos.

“She’s made me believe in myself,” Jennings said. “She makes me want to take up more space.”

her husband, who is Muslim, prayed during Ramadan: “He said, ‘I don’t know which direction is east!’ And I was like, ‘I got you.’”

Valerio moved to Montpelier at the beginning of 2019, not long after she left her full-time job as a Spanish teacher, cross-country coach, and director of equity and inclusion at the Rabun GapNacoochee School, a boarding school in the Appalachian Mountains of Georgia.

When she started working there, in 2013, she was regularly doing marathons and ultramarathons and blogging about her life as a fat runner.

As her platform grew and the media requests snowballed, the school administration gave her its unequivocal blessing to take time off whenever she needed. “They were like, ‘Just let us know when you need a sub,’” Valerio said. “Over and over again, they told me, ‘We think it’s so amazing that the kids are getting to witness your meteoric rise in real time.’” Her memoir came out in 2017, and REI paid for her to go on a cross-country book tour.

But by the end of that academic year, Valerio was overwhelmed and overextended, and she felt guilty about taking

Triangle Challenge; happily, neither she nor Rashid disappeared.

According to Valerio, Hazel Mae Clark, a former Olympic runner and a member of Bermuda’s tourism board, asked for her advice on how to get more Black people to do the race. Valerio’s response, in a nutshell: “Maybe make Bermuda less expensive?”

Between these adventures, Valerio crashed on her family’s couch in Brooklyn, which wasn’t an ideal setup for her mentally and physically strenuous lifestyle: “I had running and speaking events to do, and I needed a bed and to not be on anyone else’s schedule,” she said.

In December 2018, she came to Vermont to visit a friend in Barre and stayed at the Inn at Montpelier. She’d been to Vermont before, for the Catamount Ultra 25K race in Stowe, but the first time she drove down Main Street in Montpelier, she saw a Black Lives Matter banner and a Pride flag and thought, I could live here.

Valerio learned that the inn had furnished apartments, so she went to the front desk and asked if any were available.

Before she checked out at the end of the

ing you’re effectively going to be a single parent, and there’s a lot of stigma associated with that.”

This summer, at the urging of her running coach, Mike Ehredt, Valerio picked up cycling, a sport she’d never attempted before, to ease the strain on her meniscus. She bought her first Salsa Journeyman bicycle at Onion River Outdoors — because of the pandemic-driven bike shortage, it was the only model left in the store’s inventory.

Jennings, her cycling instructor, had never heard of Valerio before this May, when Jen Roberts, the co-owner of Onion River Outdoors, asked if he’d be interested in working with her.

“She said, ‘So, I have someone kind of famous,’” Jennings recalled. ‘“Would you be interested in coaching her?’” Jennings agreed. He went for a ride with Valerio a few days later, then looked her up online.

“I was like, ‘Whoa, shit, she’s a badass!’” he said.

Since their first lesson, Jennings said, Valerio has progressed from learning the basic hand signals to bombing down hills. The teaching has gone both ways: On their rides, Valerio gives him advice

in national parks and public lands, and persistent income inequality.

In recent years, outdoor brands and media outlets have begun to diversify their content in an effort to attract, and reflect, a wider range of outdoor participants. But the imagined consumers for most outdoor gear and experiences are still white men, who make up 70 percent of the print readership of Outside magazine, one of the largest outdoor publications. Valerio has been featured in Outside almost a dozen times, both as a subject and a contributor.

“We are in the awareness stage of equity and inclusion as far as it relates to the outdoor space,” Valerio wrote in a 2018 story on snewsnet.com, an online trade publication dedicated to the outdoor industry. “We are becoming more aware of the various types of communities that need to be acknowledged and then served. There’s a lot more work to be done.”

Lately, Valerio has been inundated with requests to give anti-racism trainings to outdoor recreation companies. Earlier

THE OUTDOOR TYPE

A 2019 study by the Outdoor Industry Association found that those who identify as Black, Indigenous or people of color make up only 26 percent of outdoor recreation participants. That figure hints at the snag of variables that have limited access for generations — a lack of representation in advertising, a long history of formal and informal segregation

OUTDOOR VOICE SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

» P.42 41

Outdoor Voice « P.41

42

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

SLOW AND STEADY

Fame has been weird for Valerio. In October 2018, the actor Will Smith hired her to train him for a half marathon. He flew her to Los Angeles for a weekend, put her up at a Four Seasons Hotel, and paid her to come up with a running plan and give him brutally honest feedback on his form. “I told him, ‘I can’t have you flailing your arms like you did in Hitch,’” she said.

According to Valerio, Smith asked her if he could have sex on his rest days; she said she’d allow it in moderation.

trolls. People have accused her of being too fat for exercise, of glorifying obesity, of being a fake. In The Mirnavator, a 2017 documentary produced by REI, Valerio recalled checking her email during a 50K race and seeing a message from someone that began with the sentence, “You are a liar and a fraud.”

The person proceeded to claim that Valerio was “pretending to run” in the videos she posted online, and that “a person who runs marathons for a living is not overweight, which is what you are.” Apparently feeling as though this COURTESY OF SPORTOGRAF

this summer, Nike Valiant Labs, a business incubator and venture capital firm, commissioned her to give a Zoom webinar. At the end of August, Valerio will lead a training session for 150 employees at Merrell, one of her corporate sponsors.

“Black is hot right now, and I’m in the outdoor space, so there’s a lot of, ‘Can we talk to you about being a BIPOC in the outdoors? What are your suggestions?’” she said. “And it’s great to see that happening right now, but I can’t fix anyone’s problems. My equity stuff is very pedagogical, very seminar-based.

“I can help people recognize racism and white supremacy and how those things show up in their lives, but I can’t solve their HR issues,” Valerio continued.

“I want to share myself with everybody, but it can get mentally and physically exhausting.”

Finney, the Middlebury scholar-inresidence and author of Black Faces, White Spaces, feels that fatigue, too. On August 4, she and Valerio were panelists on an episode of “The Exchange,” a talk program produced by New Hampshire Public Radio that focused on diversity and inclusion in the outdoors.

“I’m in this weird, weird place right now,” Finney said in a phone interview a few hours after recording the show. “A lot of people have lost their jobs, but I’m busier than I’ve ever been. My inbox is full every day, and it’s exhausting and stressful.

But I choose to do this for a living, and it takes a certain degree of vulnerability.”

Valerio has also been on the receiving end of some surprising overtures. Earlier this month, she signed a contract with a brand whose reputation among plus-size consumers has historically been, shall we say, terrible; Valerio declined to name the company, because the deal won’t be made public until the fall.

The tone of their initial message, according to Valerio, was something like: “Would you, um, maybe, possibly consider partnering with us, um, maybe, if you want, sometime?” Valerio replied: “Fuck no.”

Eventually, there was a lengthy call in which she told the company’s representatives, in no uncertain terms, that they had some serious work to do if they wanted to court fat people. “They spent a lot of time engaging with me, answering my questions, hearing me out, and I felt like they understood me and who I am as an athlete,” she said. (Also, they agreed to her six-figure asking sum.)

Not surprisingly, Valerio makes significantly more money as a full-time

sponsored athlete and influencer than she did as a boarding school teacher. Last year, she made about $120,000; this year, between her new contracts and her antiracism trainings, for which she charges a registration fee of $200 per household, she expects that figure to double.

“Right now, I’m trying to take advantage of the fact that companies need more market share — whether it’s with Black people, with fat people, with women,” Valerio said. “The bottom line is a major part of why I get to do what I do, and I’m fully aware of corporate America. But I can

Valerio during the 2018 TransRockies stage race

utilize that to give a voice to people who have traditionally been disenfranchised from the apparel market, to be a representative for them.” As a matter of principle, she refuses to work with nutrition companies or share details about what and how much she eats as part of her training regimen. “That’s just dressed-up diet culture, and I want no part of that,” she said.

Ehredt, Valerio’s running coach, has watched her ascent since he began training her in 2018. “I told her once, ‘The very thing that brought you to where you are is the thing you can do very little of right now, because you’re being pulled in so many directions,’” he said. “‘You have to learn to say no to those things, so you can say yes to the thing you love.’”

Because Valerio writes and speaks so openly about her own body, people sometimes approach her with tactless curiosity. When she was out with the Rabun Gap cross-country team during practice one afternoon, a car pulled up slowly behind her and rolled down the windows. “Hi, there,” said an older white man with a thick Alabama accent. “We’re looking for the fat lady who runs.”

(Later, Valerio said, a colleague told her that the couple had been driving around campus for a while, searching for the Mirnavator. After asking her colleague for directions, they inquired about Valerio’s weight: “Is she still heavy?”)

Valerio has also dealt with her share of

hadn’t gone far enough, the sender punctuated that thought with a stand-alone “Fuck you.”

For every email like that one, Valerio has received hundreds of messages from fans who say she’s changed their lives. In an Instagram post from last February, in which Valerio appears in a grove of palm trees, wearing a sports bra, capri tights and a beatific smile, someone wrote: “I just have to tell you, you are a bright light, an inspiration, and you have knocked down some of my JUDGMENT, that I am so so ready to let go of, about body size. Thank you for helping me grow!!!” Another person commented: “I’m getting out there and moving because of you.”

She and I have the same joy about just being outside.

K A RA R ICHAR D SON WHITELY

Valerio’s online fan interactions occasionally blossom into real-life friendships. Kara Richardson Whitely, author of the memoir Gorge: My Journey Up Kilimanjaro at 300 Pounds, had been following Valerio for a few years before she reached out to her on social media.

The two met for coffee in New York City last summer and have since kept in touch. While Whitely was throughhiking the Long Trail this July, Valerio joined her for a rainy 6.3-mile stretch in Bennington.

“What I love about her is that she and I have the same joy about just being outside,” said Whitely, who grew up in South Burlington. “We both like to say that we’re slow as fuck. One of the best things about being slow as fuck is that you take in every single step. We notice the smell of the forest, and the brightorange salamanders, and the fog that appears after the rain.”

Whitely, who is white, said that Valerio has helped educate her about the discrimination and hostility people of color often face in the outdoors.

Recently, Valerio posted an Instagram video about the aggrieved responses she gets when she shares the GPS coordinates of hiking trails.

“The intimation from those people is, ‘We don’t want a bunch of those people’” — meaning people of color — “‘coming here,’” Whitely said. “By being so open, she draws haters, but fortunately, I think the world has given her more love than hate. And the more she does this, the more love and understanding she’s going to cultivate in the world.”

JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

LIVING COLOR

By now, Valerio has grown accustomed to sharing herself with people, with assuming the role of stereotype buster, inspirational force of nature, badass. She gets paid to do what she loves, which happens to be something most people associate with leisure, and people tend to assume that her life is easy.

“It looks glamorous, but a ton of work goes into every single post,” she said on a recent afternoon on the Burlington bike path. “Like, it can take me five hours to put together an Instagram story. It’s really important for me to be authentic and do all my own writing, because people can tell right away when it’s not me.”

Valerio and her husband had just returned from a week in Los Angeles, where she recorded an episode of “The Rich Roll Podcast” and filmed a segment for “Access Hollywood.” They stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, where Will Smith had stationed

her while she coached him. Valerio had hoped to turn the trip into a minivacation, but she made the mistake of telling a friend, who does social media for Four Seasons, that she was staying at one of their hotels. Suddenly, Valerio found herself doing an Instagram story for Four Seasons. She didn’t get paid for the content, but she and her husband got a few complimentary meals — including, she said, the best sourdough bread she’s ever experienced in her life.

I asked Valerio if she ever gets tired of the relentless demands of a career on social media, where the metric of success is an illusion of effortlessness, sustained by an immense amount of unseen effort. “I’m a performing artist, and I think a lot of performing artists are introverts,” she said. “You can be onstage, and that performance is just an extension of who you are. And that’s how I see social media. It’s me, 100 percent, but it’s polished and edited and cleaned up.”

At the end of this month, Valerio is having knee surgery, which will force her to take a brief hiatus from saying yes to everything. In the not-too-distant future, she hopes to buy land in Montpelier for a retreat center. Her son will be a junior at Montpelier High School next year, and she wants to be present for him, which will mean less traveling.

“Being able to travel so much has been awesome, and I’m so grateful to be able to do what I’ve done, but I think I’m kind of tired,” she said.

Since March, Valerio has been doing twice-weekly Zoom lessons with a vocal trainer she met at a race in Lake Tahoe, which has been crucial for her mental health. Next year, if the arts emerge from their pandemic hibernation, she plans to go to Viterbo, Italy, and sing in an International Lyric Academy production of Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica — and perform, at least for a few hours, as someone other than herself.

But Valerio is far from done pushing her physical limits. That afternoon, she had scheduled a phone call with Vasu Sojitra, an Indian American skier with an amputated leg. They were going to discuss plans to do a rim-to-rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon next spring.

“I’ve been in mostly white spaces my whole life,” Valerio said. “I want to focus on being outdoors with people of color.”

Contact: chelsea@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Learn more about Mirna Valerio at themirnavator.com and on Instagram @themirnavator.

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

43

LUKE AWTRY

food+drink

Bartender Morgan McAvoy mixing drinks at Burlington’s Shanty on the Shore in June

Safe Servings The health department’s Elisabeth Wirsing on minimizing coronavirus risk at restaurants B Y M E L I SSA PASANEN

I

n normal times, Vermont Department of Health inspectors pay surprise visits to restaurants to make sure raw meats are safely chilled, mice haven’t nested in the dry goods and employees wash their hands regularly. But in 2020, the team at the state’s Food and Lodging Program has had to expand its surveillance from mice to masks.

Inspectors of food businesses traditionally focus on reducing cases of foodborne gastrointestinal illness. Now they are also involved in helping minimize the spread of a highly contagious global pandemic, which has required a radically new approach to doing their work.

From mid-March to mid-June, the only visits that Vermont inspectors made were virtual ones to license food businesses that were new or changing ownership. In lieu of their usual unannounced, on-site evaluations of ongoing compliance, they made more than 1,000 phone calls to help food businesses navigate the

FOOD LOVER?

GET YOUR FILL ONLINE...

44

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

regularly updated requirements specified in Gov. Phil Scott’s “Be Smart, Stay Safe” executive order.

As seated dining has gradually ramped up in Vermont, however, so has inspection activity — and public concern about the safety of eating out.

According to Food and Lodging Program chief Elisabeth Wirsing, in July the program received 57 complaints from the public about executive order compliance — almost double the June number.

About 70 percent of those complaints involved employee face coverings.

Not surprisingly, the issue is also front and center for restaurants. Working through the “middle of the summer with a face covering over a hot grill has been probably the major challenge we’ve been hearing from businesses,” Wirsing said.

Wirsing spoke with Seven Days about the risks of dining out, whether gloves help and why surprise inspections remain on hold for now.

SEVEN DAYS: What does the health department understand to be the risk of transmission of COVID-19 through food and beverage?

ELISABETH WIRSING: Currently, there has not been evidence to show that COVID-19 is spread through food or food packaging. We still believe that, unlike foodborne, gastrointestinal viruses that can often make people sick from contaminated food, COVID-19 is a virus that causes respiratory illness, and it’s thought mainly to spread from person to person.

It may be possible that a person could get COVID-19 by touching a surface or an object that has the virus on it, and then touching their own mouth, nose or possibly their eye. But this is still not thought to be the main way that the virus spreads.

SD: How about the risk of transmission of COVID-19 from dining at a restaurant?

EW: The risk would be similar to other

FOOD NEWS SERVED TO YOUR INBOX

FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT THE WEEK’S FOOD COVERAGE, RECIPES AND OTHER DELICIOUS TIDBITS, SIGN UP FOR THE BITE CLUB NEWSLETTER: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/ENEWS.

indoor environments. Respiratory droplets [are] released when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes, and not everyone infected with the virus may have symptoms. So you could become infected if you have indoor contact with those aerosols from an infected person for an extended period of time.

The same general precautions to help prevent the virus from spreading [anywhere] apply also in restaurants. Most important is employees wearing cloth face coverings. Also that customers wear face coverings when they’re not eating, and reduced capacity so that social distancing of tables can really occur. And everyone washing their hands and staying home if they’re sick.

SD: Are these more important for indoor dining?

EW: Indoor, certainly, is where especially the precautions are important, but precautions apply in both settings because there are people in both settings.

SD: In addition to the general precautions you mentioned, what are some notable restaurant-specific requirements?

EW: Implementing a reservation system to help manage the flow of customers and also keeping that list of [customer] contacts, though that doesn’t apply to all service settings, like food trucks or counter service. [Also] elimination of shared food service, like buffets, and other self-serve, like utensils and shared condiments.

Bar seating and drink or food production areas must remain closed to patrons

GOOD TO-GO VERMONT:

SAFE SERVINGS

» P.48

VERMONT RESTAURANTS ARE STILL MAKING DELICIOUS FOOD FOR TAKEOUT, DELIVERY OR CURBSIDE PICKUP. FIND OUT WHAT YOUR FAVORITE EATERIES ARE SERVING UP AT GOODTOGOVERMONT.COM. #GOODTOGOVT

SIDEdishes SERVING UP FOOD NEWS

MELISSA PASANEN

Priyank Shah (left) and Sikander Badhan of Elaichi Indian Restaurant & Bar

Indian Redux NEW YORK CATERERS TO OPEN BURLINGTON RESTAURANT

A pair of New Yorkers will soon open an Indian restaurant at 207 Colchester Avenue in Burlington, where India House served up tandoori chicken and pakoras from the early 1980s until October 2019.

Co-owners PRIYANK SHAH and SIKANDER BADHAN said they hope their ELAICHI INDIAN RESTAURANT

& BAR will be open for takeout, delivery and reduced-capacity indoor seating by the end of August, although they believe the liquor license will take a little longer.

Brothers-in-law Shah and Badhan, who will be moving from Long Island with their families, have worked together at Shah’s New York-area Indian catering business for several years. That business provided food for large events at Jain and Hindu temples, as well as Indian senior groups, Shah said.

“We are used to cooking for 300 to 400 people,” he added, looking around the Burlington restaurant’s dining room.

“This will be different.”

Shah, 34, earned a hospitality degree in his native state of Gujarat on the west coast of India.

Badhan, 32, is from Punjab in the north.

Shah said the duo’s decision to open a restaurant was not directly related to the pandemic. They had spent a year and a half looking for a business in a “less crowded” place outside New York when a friend in the Burlington area told them about the former India House space.

Their first trip to see the restaurant was also their first time leaving their homes in four and a half months, they said.

Elaichi means cardamom in Hindi. Shah said the restaurant’s menu will include South Indian specialties such as dosa, crêpe-like pancakes made from a fermented batter; curries and other dishes will be made as spicy as customers want.

“You will have authentic Indian food,” he promised.

Melissa Pasanen

Marketing the Market ONLINE PLATFORM BFM DIRECT SET TO LAUNCH

The BURLINGTON FARMERS MARKET is partnering with LOCAL MAVERICK, a Burlington-based technology and marketing company, to launch BFM DIRECT. The online platform will offer customers a central

Join us for

place to preorder food products from market vendors.

BFM Direct is a pilot program for Local Maverick, whose larger goal is to build a digital platform that will serve as a one-stop shop for local products.

“We were trying to figure out what would be the best first step for us to really make an impact,” Local Maverick founder RYAN NAKHLEH said.

“After speaking to MIEKO OZEKI [market director of the Burlington Farmers Market], we realized that, due to COVID, there was a need for more exposure for the market — and especially for the vendors who were not able to be at the market.”

The pilot program will kick off with products from five market vendors; Saturday pickup will be available at the market and an alternative location downtown. The participating vendors and pickup and delivery options will expand over time, Nakhleh said.

“BFM Direct goes back to the essentials of what a farmers market is,” Ozeki said. “It’s food-centric and food-distribution-centric.

For us, it’s one more alternative we can provide.”

The website will launch this Friday, August 14, with vendor pages and a loyalty program; the target for the first pickup day is August 29, with preordering tentatively scheduled to open on August 24. Find more info at localmaverickus.com.

“We want to create an added level of seamlessness and convenience for local [products] and start to get more people involved,” Nakhleh said.

• Authentic Italian Food •

13 West Center St., Winooski Mon-Sat 11am-9pm, Sunday, Noon-8 For delivery please visit delivery.com

Microbrew Mondays all beers just $3 (excluding 23 oz beers)

Outdoor Seating Available!

802-655-2423 www.papa-franks.com @papafranksvt

12h-papafranks072920.indd 1

7/27/20 8:48 AM

NORTHEAST SEAFOOD

BRUNCH ON THE TERRACE SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS 8 AM - 1 PM bleuvt.com - 25 Cherry Street Untitled-3 1

8/10/20 8:44 AM

Order online at thescalevt.com Now accepting walk-up orders Outdoor seating

Jordan Barry

CONNECT Follow us for the latest food gossip! On Twitter: Sally Pollak: @vtpollak.

On Instagram: @7deatsvt.

373 Blair Park Road, Williston Essex Junction Coming Soon!

4t-scalepoke071520.indd 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

45

7/8/20 5:56 PM

Uncommon Meal Craftsbury General Store serves global fare B Y S A LLY POL L AK

D

46

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

Pork larb from the Craftsbury General Store

weekly increase of about 100 meals during the pandemic.

“It kind of got people through when they couldn’t go to restaurants, and they were shut in and tired of cooking,” said chef Jana Smart. “That one night a week was something they could look forward to.”

Orleans native Emily Maclure, 40, purchased the store in the summer of 2012. Kit Basom, 35, from Glover, was hired that fall and later became a business partner. Smart, a 33-year-old Texan, joined the team in 2014 as a chef and is about to become a partner, as well, according to Maclure.

“It was sort of an instant connection,” Smart said. “The three of us work really well together.”

The global dinners began seven years ago. The idea was to serve themed suppers each week highlighting cuisines from around the world, Basom said.

“It felt ambitious, but also like it would PHOTOS: JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

uring a summer spent mostly at home, a trip of any duration and for pretty much any purpose is a welcome event. So we were pleased to drive 65 miles for couscous and chickpeas.

Our destination was the Craftsbury General Store on a Wednesday evening, when the store prepares and serves its Globe Trotting Dinner — a different cuisine each week. (The food is ordered in advance and packed to go.)

As we pulled into Craftsbury on Cemetery Road, the smell of weed wafted into our car.

Damn,, we thought, Craftsbury knows how to get ready to eat: The whole town must be getting high in anticipation of the Tunisian food offered today.

But it was just nouveau agriculture; we were driving by a field of odorous, bushy cannabis. A left-hand turn past the plants landed us at the store and its porch pickup spot. We fetched our food and drove up the hill to Craftsbury Common so we could picnic by the baseball backstop.

We had the swatch of green to ourselves and dined from foil plates. My vegetarian version of the Mediterranean meal was lovely: roasted chickpeas and chard, with a salad of chopped veggies and a side of tangy yogurt sauce. My daughter’s supper was similar, but the highlight was pieces of marinated chicken in a tomato-base stew.

The aroma was now mint, wafting from our meals, and we ate them quickly and happily. (I’d put the ratio of drive time to eat time at 10 to 1.)

On our way home, passing the store again, we spotted paper bags on the porch packed with global suppers still awaiting pickup. Talking later with the owners, I learned that Craftsbury General Store is serving 250 meals each Wednesday, a

Kit Basom (left) and Jana Smart preparing pork larb

food+drink

AL FRESCO! Indoor, outdoor seating and curbside takeout available.

Come visit our hard-working staff, all saftey protocols are in place and our fabulous food await you.

Come experince our four new outdoor dining areas or distance in the nooks and crannies of our spacious and segmented classic dinner house.

Enjoy our daily creative chef’s menu speicals and take a peek before you dine online.

Fire & Ice

Vermont’s Iconic dinner house

26 Seymour Street | Middlebury | 802.388.7166 | fireandicerestaurant.com 6H-fireandice081220.indd 1

Employees Renee Orzolek (left) and Lily Dunbar with orders for pickup

keep people excited,” she said. “We kind shepherd’s pie, and pulled pork with mac of hit the ground running, and it felt like and cheese. a success from the beginning.”

The store has been closed to the The first meal, served to about 40 public since the start of the pandemic. people, was familiar fare: tacos. For week Customers can order groceries online or two, the cooks prepared an Indian meal. by telephone, and they can make a quick Since then the variety has included Thai porch purchase at a takeout window. larb salad, Moroccan tagine, Korean This last option provides a bit of the bibimbap and Jamaicommunity conneccan jerk. Meat and tion — a face-to-face vegetarian options are interaction — that’s each $12.49. been a hallmark of the “Part of the really store, the owners said. interesting thing about “ Pe o p l e c o m e this dinner, as a cook, here a lot of the time is the format,” Smart just to connect with said. The constraints somebody,” Smart imposed by price, observed. “We’ve had KIT BASOM packaging and quana very hospitable and tity provide a framewarm environment. A work that makes it easier to produce the lot of people come every day.” meals, she explained.

Patty Meyer, a retired dairy farmer As the scale has grown, cooks Basom from Hardwick, and her family have and Smart have cut back on some of the been eating the general store’s global more intricate, multicomponent meals meals from the beginning. She enjoys they used to make. Basom recalled the three-generation gatherings, as well making injera for an Ethiopian dinner as the cuisine. Meyer gave a shout-out to and preparing hand-folded dumplings. the Norwegian fish stew.

“We’ve learned by doing,” she said.

“It’s been nice because we have a night “It’s been a food laboratory. We’ve liter- where we can get our suppers and they’re ally traveled around the world experi- all different and delicious — from all menting with different flavors.” different parts of the globe,” Meyer said.

The general store kitchen also “And we can eat as a family.” produces pizzas, salads, sandwiches, Contact: sally@sevendaysvt.com baked goods and other deli items. Smart recently added Sunday night familystyle meals to the menu, preparing clas- INFO sic dishes such as chicken and biscuits, Learn more at craftsburygeneralstore.com.

8/7/20 3:24 PM

TASTING FLIGHTS WINE BY THE GLASS LOCAL CHEESE AND CHARCUTERIE OUTDOOR SEATING AND VINEYARD VIEWS

Iapetus Wine | Grown, Produced, and bottled by Shelburne Vineyard

WE’VE LITERALLY TRAVELED AROUND THE WORLD

EXPERIMENTING WITH DIFFERENT FLAVORS.

ST6H-ShelVineyard072920 1

Untitled-4 1

7/24/20 3:16 PM

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

47

8/11/20 11:18 AM

Safe Servings  P.44 to reduce prolonged contact between patrons and bartenders and to prevent close contact between patrons. Standing is not allowed while you’re inside. There really needs to be a seated, controlled environment.

SD: Who are the requirements designed to protect?

EW: The goal is protection for everyone: employees, delivery folks or services that may come in, the public — anyone really who interacts in the space.

[were] in place to mitigate transmission of COVID. [State] guidance requires that operators maintain an easily accessible log of customers and their contact information for 30 days in case contact tracing is required. In the absence of logs, [the state] may require a public announcement of possible exposure if a case is identified.

SD: Should every restaurant employee wear a face covering?

EW: Employees must wear face coverings over their nose and mouth when in the presence of others.

require frequent handwashing, and bare-hand contact is prohibited from ready-to-eat foods. There have not been any additional COVID requirements for gloves in food service establishments.

The public often see gloves as a good idea or an additional precaution, [but] gloves can be used improperly. Wearing gloves does not make you invincible if you’re still touching everything.

THERE HAS NOT BEEN EVIDENCE TO SHOW

SD: It is tough to social distance in many restaurant kitchens. How are you providing SD: Must a restaurant close if an guidance on this employee tests positive for COVID-19 issue? or has been exposed to someone who EW: [We] emphatests positive? size social distancE L IS ABE TH W IR S ING EW: We haven’t had a situation that I’m ing and wearing cloth face coverings together to help aware of where it’s been required to SD: I was at a restaurant where I really shut down immediately. Businesses could see in the kitchen that the reduce the risk of transmission between certainly, out of caution, can take what- cook was not wearing a face coverpeople. We’ve been having a lot of converever steps they feel may be necessary or ing, but he appeared to be working sations with businesses about thinking appropriate. alone. He put the prepared takeout creatively about options for adjusting In the few instances I’m aware of when on a table. And then the cashier, who their food preparation spaces and reducan employee tested positive, the imme- was wearing a face mask, would get ing or moving staff. diate action is, that employee needs to it when he had stepped away. Was go home. The contact-tracing team will that OK? SD: What’s going on with regular follow up with the employee and evaluate EW: It may be a very rare instance that restaurant inspections? the close contacts that worked with that there’s one employee working completely EW: During the emergency, we did stop employee during the infectious period. alone, but what we find is there’s usually in-person, on-site routine inspections, There’s a very detailed process of gather- some interaction between employees. the unannounced inspections. We’re ing information to determine the risk and Our preference is that everybody wears conducting what we’re calling food the action steps. a face covering, which you’ve probably safety check-ins by phone to review heard the health department say all day COVID requirements and food safety SD: What happens if a customer tests long. risk factors in a nonregulatory, open positive within a week after dining at discussion format.

We also have been following up on a restaurant?

SD: Can people eating out realistically EW: The customer, similarly, would be keep their faces covered? complaints received from the public. In contacted by the contact-tracing team. EW: It’s a challenge, but if you’re not mid-June, we did resume some schedPart of their process is [asking] where eating or drinking, the ask is to wear your uled in-person inspections for priority they have been in the last 14 days. If a face covering. areas, mainly licensing complaints. We are currently trying to finish planning for restaurant is identified during what is determined to be the patient’s infectious SD: Are there new rules about restaumore routine inspection work. It’s going period, the contact tracers will contact rant employees using gloves? to look a little different; even the routine the restaurant and review what protocols EW: [Regular] food safety regulations inspections will be scheduled.

CSWD ScrapFoodWaste-QTR-Hv2-7D-snap.pdf 1 7/29/20 3:41 PM

THAT COVID-19 IS SPREAD THROUGH FOOD.

SD: Oh, so not the usual surprise inspections?

EW: It may not be practical for unannounced inspections, and it also may just not be appropriate. We want to make sure that the person in charge is available to talk through what’s going on. We also call ahead of time to schedule and review what precautions the business has been taking, and also what precautions we are taking. For the interim, that is the approach that a lot of states are taking.

SD: What kind of enforcement can your inspectors provide on COVIDrelated guidelines?

EW: Our role has been education and outreach, and that has been working. We find businesses want to do the right thing and protect public health and their employees. If there is a situation where there is noncompliance or refusal to comply, that information can be shared through a process working with law enforcement and the Attorney General’s Office.

SD: What can people do if they have a concern about a restaurant’s compliance?

EW: The public can call or email the Food and Lodging Program. I recommend people also, if they feel comfortable, mention something while they’re on-site to a person in charge. Sometimes the establishment is not aware, or they can respond and address the issue.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Contact: pasanen@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Learn more at healthvermont.gov/ environment/food-lodging.

FOOD SCRAPS

LET’S

SCRAP FOOD

WASTE COUNTER TOP any sealable container

DROPďšşOFF at CSWD center

BACKYARD COMPOSTER OR DIGESTER

PAID PICKďšşUP SERVICE OR HAULER COLLECTION

NEVER TRASH

YOU HAVE OPTIONS AND WE CAN HELP YOU! VISIT CSWD.NET/ScrapFoodWaste 48

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

4h-CSWD080520 1

7/29/20 4:41 PM

MAKING MOVES? Wednesday, Aug. 26, 6-8 p.m.

party!

ATTORNEY

REAL ESTATE BROKER

Jim Wick

REGISTER TODAY: 1T-HouseParty072920.indd 1

A free online workshop for first-time home buyers. Talk with experts and ask questions from home!

Katrina Roberts

MORTGAGE LOAN ORIGINATOR Christine Guy

sevendaysvt.com/houseparty SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

49

7/28/20 11:46 AM

music+nightlife

Alderbrook Campout

PHOTOS: JORDAN ADAMS

S UNDbites

News and views on the local music + nightlife scene B Y JO R D A N A D A MS

The Year of No Festivals … Kind Of

This year has been called “the year of no concerts,” “the year of no festivals,” “the year of no, well, everything.” And while that’s largely true, some small outdoor concerts and DIY events have taken shape in various forms. I checked in with the folks behind two small, fringy fests to find out how and why they decided to proceed.

Into the Woods

A few weeks ago, I received an invitation to a hush-hush, invite-only music fest called Alderbrook Campout. The event was tucked in the woods just off Route 100 in Waterbury Center, where a modest gathering of mostly twentysomethings had the pleasure of experiencing something close to a normal festival.

In an open-air pavilion at the Waterbury-Stowe Fish & Game Club, local bands and DJs took the stage throughout the day, including CLAY ACHING, LILY SEABIRD, the DEAD SHAKERS, ROOST, GREASEFACE, FATHER FIGUER, and DJs TAKA and DISCO PHANTOM. As the scorching afternoon sun slowly made its way toward the towering tree line at the edge of the property, attendees basked in the rays on chairs and blankets brought from home, tossed Frisbees, kicked back cold ones and other intoxicants, and watched with visible glee as artists played their hearts out.

All eyes (and ears) were on the majestic, eclectic sounds and goings-on, with little chitchat. Between sets, people danced like no one was watching as funky jams filled the air.

50

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

To add even more magic to the picturesque setting, hundreds of dragonflies buzzed through the air, glinting in the sun like sparkling little pixies. It was almost too much.

In 2019, the then-brand-new overnight festival at a fish and game club in Waterbury had scarcely more attendees than the current 150 cap — that’s the pandemic limit on outdoor gatherings in Vermont at the moment.

Founder RALPH BISSELL felt confident he and his team could safely and effectively go ahead with this year’s installment.

“It looks like we’re all systems go,” Bissell said by phone a few days before the event. “[But] we’ve been ready to pull the plug at any time.”

Bissell explained that the formerly public gathering shifted to an inviteonly model for 2020, with proceeds going entirely to two nonprofits: the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society (G.L.I.T.S.). Contributions were to be made ahead of the festival to gain admission.

Each band and artist was given a finite number of invite slots. This not only kept numbers low (about 100 people, including performers, attended throughout the day), it also created a more interconnected network of attendees should the need for contact tracing arise.

Bissell also mentioned that all attendees were asked to cooperate with current guidelines regarding out-of-state visitors. If you were coming from out of state, you were expected to follow the quarantine procedures laid out by the Vermont Department of Health.

“We had to tell some people they

Roost at Alderbrook Campout

couldn’t attend because they were traveling from places that had more than 400 cases per million,” Bissell said. “It’s a little awkward to have to ask people where they’re traveling from, but they were very understanding.”

Precautions were taken regarding setup and equipment. The stage was set up in an open-air pavilion. Other than a backline bass amp and kick and snare drums, all instruments and other gear belonged to each band or artist.

Everyone strictly handled their own gear.

Despite those rigorous restrictions, the vibe at the event was low-key, though not in a way that signaled discontent or disinterest from the audience. Attendees seemed to understand it was a privilege to be there, and they kept well within commonsense guidelines for maintaining social distance.

Because the festival was essentially a private party, it didn’t have some of the accoutrements festivalgoers might expect, such as food and beverage offerings, art displays, and a bold security presence. But I don’t think anyone was expecting any of those things. To be

able to rock out to live music seemed to be all anyone really needed.

Doll Parts

Night Doll Fest was another fringe event heading into its sophomore year in 2020. Last year, the punk-leaning party, organized by riot rebels MIKU DAZA, took place in and around Junktiques Collective in Burlington’s Old North End. But mononymous front person MIKU knew by mid-spring that she and her team would need to rethink things.

Night Doll Fest pivoted to a digital format, but not in the way most fests have. Eschewing livestreaming, it transformed the very concept of what a festival can be by creating high-quality, prerecorded music videos of bands and artists on the “lineup” and releasing them on social media one by one. The clips began coming out in August and will continue into September.

Viewers were and are encouraged to make contributions to a trio of charities: Rebel Womxn, the Pride Center of Vermont, and the Transgender GenderVariant & Intersex Justice Project.

GOT MUSIC NEWS? JORDAN@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

So far, clips include drag performer

SHANI, punks BOYS CRUISE, R&B producer/

COURTESY OF LINDSEY FLICKER

singer-songwriter PRINCESS NOSTALGIA and Miku Daza. A forthcoming finale, out on September 10, will feature rock group JESSE TAYLOR BAND and BLINK-182 tribute PINK-802.

“We figured: We have the resources; we have a studio we can social distance at,” explained Miku by phone. “And we’re going to be able to give these artists high-quality content that they can use however they want.”

Perhaps it’s a stretch to call this model of content production a festival, but it’s actually a pretty creative solution to a problem I’ve seen referred to as livestream fatigue. Once the pandemic hit and shows and tours were axed across the country, everyone shifted to a livestream model. That was fun for a few weeks, but many issues, such as poor sound and picture quality, plague the format. Top-tier tech and a strong internet connection are essential.

“The problem, in my mind, of just going live is that the artist is at the [mercy] of whatever technology they have,” Miku said. “I went live, solo, right when the pandemic happened, and it was really difficult. I didn’t even have a computer at the time. I had to use a broken iPad and my iPhone.”

Going with a prerecorded format also allowed artists to have a bit more control over the final product, should they so choose, not to mention flexibility for viewers, who can watch vids whenever they have the time.

“We wanted to be super flexible,” Miku said. “Our attitude was giving [our artists] the most freedom to do what works for them.”

For instance, Princess Nostalgia (aka LILI TRAVIATO) opted to edit her own video.

“If it’s gonna be a video of me performing my songs, I just want to

Listening In 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.

,

SMALLTALKER “Wildcard” THE ASTEROIDS GALAXY TOUR

,

“Around the Bend” PROMISES, LTD., “American Eyes” GLASS ANIMALS, “Tangerine” KACY HILL, “Porsche”

be in control of all of it,” Traviato said, noting that she also opted to overdub her original tracks instead of use the live sound recorded on set.

Traviato, who was also scheduled to appear at Alderbrook but had to pull out at the last minute, said she approached her set with an open mind, though she had some trepidation.

“I was kind of struggling, because [I knew] this was going to be consumed differently than a live format,” she said.

“I’m more OK with imperfection in my live vocals if I’m sharing the space with people and they’re feeling my spirit.

But if this is going to be permanently on the internet, I just want them to hear my production skills exactly how I like them.”

Miku said that, going forward, future Night Doll Fests could incorporate some of this year’s model, but it’s too early to know for sure.

“Things are so up in the air right now,” she said. “People are looking for a little bit of inspiration, hope, entertainment, escape. I’m really happy that art and music are still happening, no matter what the circumstance.”

Miku Daza

EV E N T S O N SA L E N OW BUY ONLINE AT SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM Grief Gathering: Community, Connection, and Ritual THU., AUG. 13, 20, 27 VIRTUAL EVENT

Arabian Takeout

SAT., AUG. 15 O’BRIEN COMMUNITY CENTER, WINOOSKI

Imagine Animals Art Workshop for Kids SAT., AUG. 15 VIRTUAL EVENT

Messy Monday Mornings Outside for Kids MON., AUG. 17 GRANGE HALL CULTURAL CENTER, WATERBURY CENTER

Lunch and Learn: Ethical Wills FRI., AUG. 21 VIRTUAL EVENT

The 4th Annual GMSS Virtual Bazaar FRI., AUG. 21 — WED., AUG. 26 VIRTUAL EVENT

Retro Spec featuring Kat Wright & Stephanie Wilson FRI., AUG. 21 — SAT., AUG. 22 WATER WORKS PARK, BURLINGTON

Nature Journaling in the Garden SAT., AUG. 22 HORSFORD GARDENS & NURSERY, CHARLOTTE

Ethiopian / Eritrean Takeout SAT., AUG. 22 O’BRIEN COMMUNITY CENTER, WINOOSKI

MORE EVENTS ONLINE AT SEVENDAYSTICKETS.COM SELLING TICKETS? • Classes • Webinars • Virtual Events • Fundraisers

2v-tickets81220.indd 1

WE CAN HELP! • No cost to you • Local support • Built-in promotion • Custom options

SELL TIX WITH US!

Contact: 865-1020, ext. 10 getstarted@sevendaystickets.com

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

51

8/11/20 2:37 PM

GOT MUSIC NEWS? JORDAN@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

REVIEW this Denise Casey, Come Alive

overall vocal performance is not her strongest attribute. Throughout the LP, but particularly on “Sheeba’s Throne,” for example, the notes sound swallowed and less than pitch-perfect. Additionally, her rhythmic delivery never quite lands in the pocket — a nuance that doesn’t seem to be a deliberate style choice.

A peek at Casey’s public social media profiles shows a person who seeks joy and meditates on growth and gratitude.

Her lyrics, on the other hand, tend to center on more sobering themes.

In “The Void,” she sings of isolation: “This is the desperate call you make / to escape the feelings that you can’t take alone.” With “Newbury,” Casey (no relation to fellow Vermont folkster Patti Casey) crafts a truly sad song about a loved one’s failing health, providing a vivid image not just of loss but of dying: “We know how this ends and I’m afraid to speak, / watching you watch this death creep / over his bones, / through his skin, / over your heart / I watch you breaking.”

Casey taught herself to sing and play guitar after a life-changing trip to Nepal.

Her guitar lines are straightforward and most effective when augmented by her fellow players. Chris Krag’s violin intensifies the sorrow of “Newbury.”

A post-verse guitar lick with Caleb Weathers brightens “Lida’s Song” (presumably named for Casey’s sometime collaborator and Vermont choreographer Lida Winfield).

Golden-throated Grace Aldrich, who contributes background vocals on several tracks, steals the spotlight in “River Run,” on which she and Casey sing in harmony over purely percussive instrumentation, calling to mind Fiona Apple’s “Hot Knife.”

So what is Casey’s strongest feature as a musician? Probably her innate need to make music and her ability to embrace it as a form of self-care, as she describes in her bio. It’s each listener’s choice whether or not they wish to engage with her work. Casey, as she tells it, has no choice but to make music, so make music she should.

Come Alive is available at denisecasey. bandcamp.com.

Then, also like all good plans for conquering the universe, the Cosmic Rays went dormant, lulling the citizenry into a false sense of serenity. But any fan of sci-fi or horror had to know they’d be back, more fearsome (and juvenile) than ever.

Indeed, Phased Out encapsulates everything that has made the band so fascinating, entertaining and terrifying

over the past half decade or so. From multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Christopher “Tex Rex” Ribzbee’s bizzarro, nonsensical lyrical rants (and dick jokes) to the queer and cacophonous soundscapes conjured by bandmates Sean-Jean GodRow, Will “Master Commander” Shafthills and Chris Shacktown USA, the album crackles with unhinged energy and oddball humor.

Take the album opener. The 83-second “Air Guitar Theme” is played almost entirely, and quite poorly, on accordion and laced with fart noises.

“Beneath the Shoe” follows. Imagine a slow-jammy power ballad if played by a Weezer tribute band composed of horny middle schoolers. Ribzbee (real name Christopher Stott-Rigsbee) sings with a tremulous tone that less evokes a pubescent Rivers Cuomo than a cartoonish approximation of Conor Oberst at his most manically warbling.

None of that is meant derisively, BTW. Phased Out, like the rest of the

Cosmic Rays canon, is colored by a churlish and sophomoric sensibility that owes a debt to both the sci-fi writer Douglas Adams and the sleaziest cartoons of R. Crumb — or maybe the Garbage Pail Kids. In fact, the record’s penultimate track is a nod to Adams’ cult classic novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy titled “So Long and Thanks for All the Phases.”

It can’t be said that Our Holy Orgasmic Cosmic Rays have ever remotely approached the greatness of those influences or those of their inscrutable musical inspirations — Dr. Demento and … the fuck if I know.

But all that is rather beside the point.

The point is … well, the fuck if I know that, either. So I suppose we’ll go out on this: So long and thanks for all the phases, Cosmic Rays. For anyone bold enough to tag along, it’s been quite the ride.

Phased Out is available at ourholyorgasmiccosmicrays. bandcamp.com.

(SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL)

I used to sing karaoke at a Philadelphia dive called Locust Bar, where everyone from hipsters to grizzled old men felt comfortable taking their shot on the mic. One regular singer caught my ear with her unique sound. Her voice wasn’t conventionally good, but it was unusual, so I kept listening.

With a tone that falls somewhere between that of Natalie Merchant and Joan Armatrading, Burlington acoustic folk artist Denise Casey’s voice pulled that karaoke queen from the recesses of my memory within the first few notes of her debut full-length album, Come Alive.

Though her tone caught my attention from the get-go — the album’s first song, “Hermit Thrush and Me,” opens with Casey performing a cappella — Casey’s

Our Holy Orgasmic Cosmic Rays, Phased Out (SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL)

With the July release of their fourth and final full-length record, Phased Out, Our Holy Orgasmic Cosmic Rays have completed one of the more bewildering yet oddly delightful album cycles in recent local memory. May God have mercy on our souls. And also theirs. (But mostly ours.)

Like all good schemes for galactic domination, the Plattsburgh, N.Y.-based anti-supergroup’s nefarious plot occurred in distinct phases. Phase One, the band’s 2014 debut, was a deranged and punky treatise loaded with lo-fi experimental snarl and plenty of dick jokes. Phase Two and Phase Three followed in quick succession in 2015 and found the band somewhat toning down its abrasive approach in an appeal to the masses — but definitely not toning down the dick jokes.

GET YOUR MUSIC REVIEWED:

52

J

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

KRISTEN RAVIN

DAN BOLLES

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

Say you saw it in...

NOW IN sevendaysvt.com

3D!

classes dance DANCE STUDIO SALSALINA: Salsa, bachata, cha-cha: Latin dancing! Salsalina Dance Studio reopening July 20 to offer private lessons only. Call to schedule, learn about pricing and safety protocols. See website for details. No dance experience or partner required, just the desire to have fun! Opened Jul. 20. Lessons avail. Mon.-Thu., 6-9 p.m. Price vary. Location: 32 Malletts Bay Ave., Winooski.

Info: Victoria, 598-1077, info@ salsalina.com, salsalina.com.

90+ min. each. Location: Spanish in Waterbury Center, Waterbury Center. Info: 585-1025, spanishparavos@gmail.com, spanishwaterburycenter.com.

DJEMBE & TAIKO: JOIN US!: Digital classes! (No classes on-site for now.) Taiko: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Djembe: Wednesday. Kids and Parents: Tuesday and Wednesday. Private digital conga lessons by appointment.

Let’s prepare for a future drum gathering outdoors! Schedule/ register online. Location: Taiko Space, 208 Flynn Ave., Suite 3G, Burlington. Info: 999-4255, burlingtontaiko.org.

language SPANISH CLASSES LIVE & ONLINE: Join us for adult Spanish classes this fall, using online video conferencing. Learn from a native speaker via small group classes, individual instruction or student tutoring. You’ll always be participating and speaking.

Lesson packages for travelers, lessons for children. Our 14th year.

See our website or contact us for details. Beginning week of August 31. Cost: $270/10 weekly classes of

PLEASE CHECK WITH ORGANIZERS IN ADVANCE.

program. Location: Elements of Healing, 21 Essex Way, Suite 109, Essex Jct.. Info: Scott Moylan, 2888160, scott@elementsofhealing. net, elementsofhealing.net.

SAFE NO CONTACT

Tire & Service

SALES & SERVICE

martial arts VERMONT BRAZILIAN JIUJITSU: 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 sixth-degree 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 drumming

VERMONT

CLASSES MAY BE CANCELED OR MOVED ONLINE DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS.

CHINESE MEDICAL MASSAGE: This program teaches two forms of Chinese medical massage: Tui Na 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: $6,000/625-hour

DISCOVERER ENDURAMAX Small/Midsize SUVs

TM

DISCOVERER ENDURAMAX

TM

Small/Midsize SUVs

yoga LAUGHING RIVER YOGA: Increase confidence and decrease stress. Enjoy inspirational teachings, intelligent alignment and focused workshops through daily virtual and live yoga classes. Check out our virtual library and practice with us outdoors at the Burlington Surf Club and limited capacity indoors at the Chace Mill. All bodies and abilities welcome. Daily classes, workshops, 200- & 300-hour yoga teacher training. $5-$15 single class; $44-$99/mo. unlimited. Location: Laughing River Yoga, Chace Mill and Burlington Surf Club, Burlington.Info: 3438119, laughingriveryoga.com.

ROUGH ROAD DURABILITY

SMOOTH, QUIET RIDE

SEVERE WEATHER TRACTION

CONFIDENT HANDLING

From rough city streets to gravel roads the Discoverer EnduraMax™ tire has the durability you need for whatever the road has in store.

FREE 45-DAY TEST Drive 60,000 mile / 96,000 km TREADWEAR WARRANTY* Highway I City/Rural Streets I Rough Roads Uneven Pavement I Gravel

SMOOTH, QUIET RIDE

SEVERE WEATHER TRACTION

CONFIDENT HANDLING

From rough city streets to gravel roads the Discoverer EnduraMax™ tire has the durability you need for whatever the road has in store.

FREE 45-DAY TEST Drive 60,000 mile / 96,000 km TREADWEAR WARRANTY* Highway I City/Rural Streets I Rough Roads Uneven Pavement I Gravel

ONE TIRE FOR ALL SEASONS & ROADS Made with the durability of off-road tires, for on-road driving.

Made with the durability of off-roa DURABLE-TREAD™ TECHNOLOGY Helps to extend the life of your tire tread with ultra-durable materials that resist wear and tear from rough road conditions like gravel and uneven city streets, which can quickly wear out other tires.

EVOLUTION YOGA: Come as you are and open your heart!

Whether you are new to yoga or have been at it for years, you’ll find the support you need to awaken your practice.

Livestream, recorded and outdoor classes. Practice with us in the park or on the Sailing Center dock, overlooking Lake Champlain and the scenic mountains. Enrich your practice with our Yoga for Life program or 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training for Health and Wellness Professionals. Single class: $015. 10-class pass: $120. $5 new student special. Flexible pricing, scholarships avail. Location: Evolution Yoga, 20 Kilburn St., Burlington. Info: 864-9642, evolutionvt.com.

ROUGH ROAD DURABILITY

WINTER GRIP™ TECHNOLOGY Confidently tackle the changing seasons with sawtooth grooves to enhance snow traction and control in wintery conditions.

Severe Weather Rated

EXCEPTIONALLY QUIET TREAD DURABLE-TREAD™ Remarkably quiet on the road, thanks to the TECHNOLOGY unique tread pattern that minimizes tire noise.

Helps to extend the life of your tire tread with ultra-durable materials that resist wear and tear

ENDURAGUARD™ DESIGN

from rough road conditions like gravel and uneven city streets, which can quickly wear out other tires.

A durable internal construction helps the tire keep its shape when driving over rough and WINTER GRIP™ uneven surfaces, giving you better contact TECHNOLOGY with the road and achieving a full tire life Confidently tackle the changing seasons through even wear. with sawtooth grooves to enhance snow traction and control in conditions.

ARMORwintery BELT™

TECHNOLOGY Severe

Weather Extra strength steel belts, like the ones in Rated our off-road tires, provide the tire strength to stand up to rough roads, and can help to improve handling control.

*For complete product and warranty details, please visit www.coopertire.com or coopertire.ca. ©2020 Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. All Rights Reserved.

*For complete product and w

Not responsible for any typographical errors

CLASS PHOTOS + MORE INFO ONLINE SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSES Untitled-21 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

53

7/28/20 12:23 PM

Check out the Champlain Valley’s new SUPER station!

Planning an event?

Submit your listing for free at sevendaysvt.com/ postevent.

Now on

104.3 FM

Though the pandemic is still with us, there are plenty of ways to play with others. Check the Seven Days online calendar to find activities from free classes to art shows to concerts — both in real life and virtual.

in Burlington, Plattsburgh and Saint Albans Always on

100.9

On Thursdays, consult the Magnificent 7 for a list of must-do events over the upcoming — you guessed it — seven days.

Find it at sevendaysvt.com/mag7.

in Waterbury, Montpelier and Randolph

4T-GreatEasternRadio061720.indd 1

54

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

Untitled-9 1

Be social and safe!

6/10/20 5:51 PM

10/29/19 3:50 PM

COURTESY OF KELLY SCHULZE/MOUNTAIN DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

Humane

Society of Chittenden County

Jethro AGE/SEX: 1-year-old neutered male ARRIVAL DATE: July 24, 2020 REASON HERE: He was not a good fit for his previous home.

SUMMARY: This happy-go-lucky guy likes to be right where the action is! He’s happiest racing around the play yard with his doggy friends, splashing around in a pool or going for a nice long walk. With his outgoing personality and energy, Jethro would be a great adventure buddy. He has been in several off-leash playgroups here at HSCC and may do well with another high-energy pup at home or out on the trail.

Life won’t be dull with Jethro around!

housing »

APARTMENTS, CONDOS & HOMES

DID YOU KNOW? For adopters who already have a dog at home, HSCC does onsite dog intros! This allows our staff to better assess whether the dogs are likely to be a good fit and is a chance for them to interact in a neutral space before heading home. Be sure to talk to your HSCC adoption counselor about all of the pets currently in your home and arrange for a pooch playdate as needed!

Sponsored by:

DOGS/CATS/KIDS: He has no known experience living with other dogs but has done well with others here at HSCC. He has no known experience with cats or children.

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 AUGUST 12-19, 2020

55

CLASSIFIEDS We Pick Up & Pay For Junk Automobiles!

on the road

Route 15, Hardwick

802-472-5100

housing ads: $25 (25 words) legals: 52¢/word buy this stuff: free online services: $12 (25 words)

PINECREST AT ESSEX 7 Joshua Way, Essex Jct. Independent senior living for those 55+ years. 2-BR, 2-BA avail.

8/15. $1,475/mo. incl. utils. & parking garage.

NS/pets. 802-879-9197 or rae@fullcirclevt.com.

PINECREST AT ESSEX 9 Joshua Way, Essex Jct. Independent 802-793-9133 senior living for those CASH FOR CARS! 55+ years. 2-BR, 2-BA views, balcony, lawn, We buy all cars! Junk, corner unit avail. Sep. garden. 2nd floor, high-end, totaled: It sm-allmetals060811.indd 7/20/15 1 5:02 PM 15. $1,520/mo. incl. utils exterior stairs. Utils, doesn’t matter. Get free & parking garage. NS/ parking, W/D incl. towing & same-day pets. 802-872-9197 or Wireless internet avail. cash. Newer models, rae@fullcirclevt.com.

NS/pets. codyhillfarm@ too. Call 1-866-535gmail.com.

9689. (AAN CAN) PINECREST AT ESSEX 9 Joshua Way, Essex AFFORDABLE Jct. Independent senior 2-BR APT. AVAIL. living for those 55+ At Keen’s Crossing.

2-BR: $1,266/mo., heat & years. 1-BR avail. Jul. 15, $1,240/mo. incl. utils.

HW incl. Open floor plan, fully applianced kitchen, & parking garage. NS/ pets. 802-872-9197 or fi tness center, pet rae@fullcirclevt.com. friendly, garage parking.

Income restrictions apply. 802-655-1810, keenscrossing.com.

CARS/TRUCKS

3842 Dorset Ln., Williston

housing

FOR RENT $1,200/MO. MILTON 1-BR APT. 800 sq.ft. Clean, open floor plan, country

HOUSEMATES

BURLINGTON Single room, Hill Section, on bus line.

No cooking. Linens furnished. 862-2389.

No pets.

CLASSIFIEDS KEY appt. appointment apt. apartment BA bathroom BR bedroom DR dining room DW dishwasher HDWD hardwood HW hot water LR living room NS no smoking OBO or best offer refs. references sec. dep. security deposit W/D washer & dryer

HOUSEMATE & PT WORK Elderly gentleman w/ disabilities seeking 3rd caregiver/housemate.

2 conscientious, caring & clean caregivers also support him in 4-BR home. Short walk to downtown/waterfront.

You: mindful, good communication skills, sense of humor, patience, cleanliness & comfort assisting w/ personal care needs. Full paid training provided.

Req. 2+ asleep overnight shifts per week + regularly scheduled paid awake hours (TBD, ~15-30 hrs). Strict COVID prevention guidelines to protect this wonderful gentleman, yourself & your housemates during these challenging times. Rent free, pay 1/4 of utils./internet, split costs of shared items. Resume, refs. & full background checks. Home Base, Inc. 802-238-3073.

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

NEED A ROOMMATE? Roommates.com will help you find your perfect match today!

(AAN CAN) ROOMMATE WANTED Room in a large apt.

Shared kitchen & BA. 1 block from Perkins Pier on Lake Champlain. $500/mo. + utils. Call Julie: 802-865-9869.

OFFICE/ COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL SPACE FOR RENT Great downtown Montpelier location!

1,592 sq.ft., plus unfinished office space & basement. $1,400/mo. + utils. For more information: downstreet.org/ commercial, or call 802-477-1329.

GORGEOUS 600 SQ.FT. OFFICE Downtown Burlington, Lake Champlain views & steps from Church St. Fully furnished office space avail. now-Mar. 31, 2021. Longer lease avail. 2 approx. equal-size private offices & a gorgeous conference area, LR & semiprivate office space. Approx.

600 sq.ft. Professional building, 3rd-floor location at 110 Main St. Large windows, after-hours access, BA & showers on same floor, elevator access. Exposed brick, tons of natural light. $2,275/mo. + prorated share of utils. (typically $100-200/mo). Price incl.

2 parking passes, use of all furnishings & monthly high-speed Burlington Telecom service through the end of Feb. 2021.

Furnishings can be purchased outright.

Please contact amy@ newleafspeakers.com or paige@btvspaces.com for details, photos, tour.

COMPUTER COMPUTER ISSUES? Geeks On Site provides free diagnosis remotely 24-7 service during COVID-19. No home visit necessary. $40 off w/ coupon 86407!

Restrictions apply.

866-939-0093. (AAN CAN)

EDUCATION SPANISH TUTOR Patient & progressive fluent Spanish tutor to meet online to chat about current events for 90 mins., 2-3 times per week, $30/session. Text 323-821-5941.

TRAIN ONLINE TO DO MEDICAL BILLING! Become a medical office professional online at CTI! Get trained, certified & ready to work in months. Call 866-243-5931. Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (AAN CAN)

FINANCIAL/LEGAL AUTO INSURANCE Starting at $49/mo.!

Call for your fee rate comparison to see how much you can save. Call 855-569-1909. (AAN CAN)

print deadline: Mondays at 4:30 p.m. post ads online 24/7 at: sevendaysvt.com/classifieds questions? classifieds@sevendaysvt.com 865-1020 x10

BOY SCOUT COMPENSATION FUND Anyone who was inappropriately touched by a Scout leader deserves justice & financial compensation! Victims may be eligible for a significant cash settlement.

Time to file is limited.

Call now. 844-896-8216.

(AAN CAN) MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES, INC Accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, taxes. 132 Footebrook Rd., P.O. Box 324, Johnson, VT, 05656. 802-635-7738, tax@maivt.com.

NEED IRS RELIEF? $10K-125K+. Get fresh start or forgiveness.

Call 1-877-258-2890 Mon.-Fri., 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

PST. (AAN CAN)

Public Auto Auction

Friday, Aug. 14 @ 9AM (Reg. from 8AM) 298 J Brown Dr., Williston, VT 800-474-6132 or 802-878-9200 Buy or Sell

Consign YOURS today! We’re looking for:

Cars, Trucks, SUVs Jet Skis Motorcycles Convertibles Boats ATVs, UTVs, RVs

The LaFountain Classic & Collector Vehicles

Simulcast Tuesday, Sept. 1 @ 12PM 131 Dorset Lane, Williston, VT Preview: Fri., Aug. 14 from 10AM-3PM

SAVE BIG ON HOME INSURANCE! Compare 20 A-rated insurances companies.

Get a quote within mins.

Average savings of $444/ year! Call 844-712-6153!

Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Central. (AAN CAN) SERIOUSLY INJURED in an auto accident?

Let us fight for you! Our network has recovered millions for clients.

Call today for a free consultation. 1-866-9912581. (AAN CAN)

Collection of Street Rods, Mustangs, Stock Cars and other unique vehicles, incl. 2000 Dodge GTS Viper formerly owned by NASCAR racer, Bill Elliot!

SERVICES »

THCAuction.com  800-634-7653

Homeshares Untitled-2 1

8/10/20 8:41 AM

SOUTH BURLINGTON

Share a bright, clean condo w/ avid sports fan in his 30s. $500/mo. (all inc) in addition to cooking 2 meals/wk, sharing some companionship & housekeeping. No pets. Private BA.

JERICHO Share home w/ a bright woman in her 80s who enjoys birds & her gardens. Provide meal prep 3-4x/wk, companionship & cleaning in exchange for no rent (just share of utils). No pets.

EAST MONTPELIER EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 and similar Vermont statutes which make it illegal to advertise any preference, limitations, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, handicap, presence of minor children in the family or receipt of public assistance, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or a discrimination. The newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate, which is in violation of the law. Our

56

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 AUGUST 12-19, 2020

services

Compact home on large property to share w/ artist in her 50s who enjoys gardening, nature & music, seeking a pet-friendly housemate for help with dog-care. $500/ mo. Shared BA.

BIZ OPPS BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR! We edit, print & distribute your work internationally.

We do the work; you reap the rewards! Call for a free Author’s Submission Kit: 844-511-1836. (AAN CAN)

Finding you just the right housemate for over 35 years!

Call 863-5625 or visit HomeShareVermont.org for an application. Interview, refs, bg check req. EHO

Say you saw it in...

Homeshare-temp2.indd 1

J

8/3/20 9:29 AM

NOW IN

sevendaysvt.com

3D!

Calcoku SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSIFIEDS »

Using the enclosed math operations as a guide, fill the grid using the numbers 1 - 6 only once in each row and column.

6+

9+

12x

120x

3+

15x

6

10x

1 9

2 3 1 8 5

3 9 2 7 9 6 5

3-

2÷ Difficulty - Medium

5 6 2 7

8 4

SUDOKU

Difficulty: Hard

BY JOSH REYNOLDS

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: HH

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: HHH

Fill the grid using the numbers 1-6, only once in each row and column. The numbers in each heavily outlined “cage” must combine to produce the target number in the top corner, using the mathematical operation indicated. A onebox cage should be filled in with the target number in the top corner. A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not the same row or column.

Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers one to nine. The same numbers cannot be repeated in a row or column.

crossword

7 8 3 6 1 9 4 5 2

ANSWERS ON P. 61 3 7 9 HH6H =8HOO, BOY! 2 4 1HH5= CHALLENGING H = MODERATE

6 5 9 1 6 4 NORTH NO CLOUDS UP ANSWERS ON P. 613» 9 2 8 7 5 9 3 4 1 6 8 5 2 7

1

5

3

2

4

6

4

3

5

6

1

2

5

2

1

4

6

3

2

6

4

1

3

5

3

4

6

5

2

1

6

1

2

3

5

4

8 7 4 2 1 3 9

There’s no limit to ad length online.

4 9 5 6 2 7 8

2 8 1 3 5 4 6

Fresh.

Filtered.

Free.

2

No. 649

BY JOSH REYNOLDS

Extra! Extra!

4

7

2-

3-

CALCOKU

numbers 1-9 only once in each row, column and 3 x 3 box.

6

2÷ 14+

Open 24/7/365.

View and post up to Post & browse ads Complete the following puzzle by using theconvenience.

6 photos per ad online. at your

6

7+ 3÷

Show and tell.

Sudoku

7 5 8 1 6 2 3

3 2 7 4 8 9 1

1 3 6 9 7 5 4

What’s that

buzz?

Find out what’s percolating today.

Sign up to receive our house blend of local news headlines served up in one convenient email

by Seven Days.

SEVENDAYSVT.COM/DAILY7 8v-daily7-coffee.indd 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

1/13/14 1:45 PM

57

BROWSE THIS WEEK’S OPEN HOUSES: sevendaysvt.com/open-houses INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY FOR LEASE

CONDO AND OFFICE SPACE

ESSEX JUNCTION | MAPLE MILL BUILDING, 1 JACKSON ST.

Total building area 24,950 SF. 1.67 acres. Zoning: mixed commercial. ample parking. Municipal water/ sewer. Whole building dry sprinkler system. Heating: natural gas heating. AC in office space. Power: 3 Phase 280 & 480 Volts/400 AMPS. 3 Loading Areas. $8.50/SF NNN (CAM $2.40 SF)

hW-nedderealestate1-081220.indd 1

services [CONTINUED] STRUGGLING W/ YOUR PRIVATE STUDENT LOAN PAYMENT? New relief programs can reduce your payments. Learn your options. Good credit not necessary. Call the Helpline: 888-670-5631.

Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

ET. (AAN CAN)

HEALTH/ WELLNESS FREE MASSAGES Book 2 massages & get the 3rd free. Have 2 friends book & get the next massage free. Call Jim: 802-393-7154.

HEARING AIDS! Buy 1 & get 1 free!

High-quality rechargeable Nano hearing aids priced 90% less than competitors.

Nearly invisible. 45-day money-back guarantee!

1-833-585-1117. (AAN CAN) LOOKING FOR SUPPORT GROUPS? Check out the classifieds.sevendaysvt. com then find Support Groups in the Local Scene category.

fcresta@neddere.com 802-651-6888 nedderealestate.com

OPTIMAL MEN’S HEALTH! Better sexual performance at any age! Bring spontaneity back w/ cutting-edge ED treatment. GAINSWave increases stamina & function without drugs.

Email gainswave@ northbranchvt.com, or call 802-828-1234.

RECENTLY DIAGNOSED w/ lung cancer or mesothelioma? Exposed to asbestos pre-1980 at work or Navy? You may be entitled to a significant cash award!

Smoking history OK. Call 1-844-925-3467. (AAN CAN)

8/10/20 hW-nedderealestate2-081220.indd 3:21 PM 1

buy this stuff

ANTIQUES/ COLLECTIBLES 1954 SINGER FEATHERWEIGHT In mint condition w/ all attachments & more. Freearm. Call 802-372-4497.

MISCELLANEOUS ATTENTION, VIAGRA & CIALIS USERS! A cheaper alternative to high drugstore prices!

50-pill special: $99 + free shipping! 100% guaranteed. Call now: 888-531-1192. (AAN CAN)

MOVING/HAULING JUNK REMOVAL & HAULING Hauling all junk, yard debris, appliances, electronics, furniture, construction materials, trash & food scraps.

Local company, reasonable rates & free estimates! Call or text 802-556-1173.

58

Nedde Real Estate is pleased to offer this beautifully appointed condominium office space. This is a newer unit that has been meticulously maintained! This space offers four exam rooms, conference room, one private office, lab/nurse space, kitchenette, reception desk, customer waiting area, solar panels and much more! 1,860 SF. Zoning: Commercial. $375,000 for sale or $2,975/month for lease.

Fernando Cresta

GENTLE TOUCH MASSAGE Specializing in deep tissue, reflexology, sports massage, Swedish and relaxation massage for Men. Practicing massage therapy for over 14 years. Gregg, website: gentletouchvt. com - Email: motman@ ymail.com - Phone: 802-234-8000, (Call or Text). Located in Milton.

COLCHESTER | 905 ROOSEVELT HIGHWAY

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

music

INSTRUCTION GUITAR INSTRUCTION Berklee graduate w/ 30 years’ teaching experience offers lessons in guitar, music theory, music technology, ear training. Individualized, step-by-step approach.

All ages, styles, levels.

Rick Belford, 864-7195, rickb@rickbelford.com.

ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION #4C12041 10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6093 On July 31, 2020, Allen Brook Development, Inc., 31 Commerce Avenue, South Burlington, VT 05403 filed application number 4C1204-1 for a project generally described as the construction of 24 units of congregate housing in a single building with a footprint of 8,556 square feet on a 1.65 acre parcel of land. The Project includes construction of a new pump station and forcemain. The Project is located at 21 Pinecrest Drive in Essex, 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 preview at the office listed below.

The application and a draft permit may also be viewed on the Natural Resources Board’s web site (http://nrb. vermont.gov) by clicking on “Act 250 Database” and entering the project number “4C1204-1.”

No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before August 31, 2020, a person notifies the Commission of an issue

REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS: List your properties here and online for only $45/week.

Submit your listings by Mondays at noon to homeworks@sevendaysvt.com or 802-865-1020, x10.

homeworks List your properties here and online for only $45/ week. Submit your listings

by Mondays at noon.

Fernando Cresta fcresta@neddere.com 802-651-6888 nedderealestate.com

Call or email today to get started: 865-1020 x10, homeworks@sevendaysvt.com

for which you need acor issues requiring commodation in order the presentation of 8/10/20Untitled-26 3:28 PM 1 to participate in this evidence at a hearing, process (including or the Commission sets participating in a public the matter for a hearing hearing, if one is held), on its own motion. Any please notify us as soon person as defined in 10 as possible, in order to V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1) may allow us as much time as request a hearing. Any hearing request must be possible to accomin writing to the address modate your needs. below, must state the Parties entitled to criteria or sub-criteria participate are the at issue, why a hearing Municipality, the is required and what Municipal Planning additional evidence Commission, the will be presented at the Regional Planning hearing. Any hearing Commission, affected request by an adjoining state agencies, and property owner or other adjoining property ownperson eligible for party ers and other persons status under 10 V.S.A. to the extent that they §6085(c)(1)(E) must have a particularized include a petition for interest that may be afparty status under the fected by the proposed Act 250 Rules. Prior to project under the Act submitting a request 250 criteria. Non-party for a hearing, please participants may also be contact the district allowed under 10 V.S.A. coordinator at the Section 6085(c)(5). telephone number listed below for more Dated at Essex Junction, information. Prior to Vermont this 7th day of convening a hearing, August, 2020. the Commission must determine that substanBy: /s/ Stephanie H. tive issues requiring Monaghan a hearing have been District Coordinator raised. Findings of Fact 111 West Street Essex and Conclusions of Law Junction, VT 05452 may not be prepared 802-879-5662 unless the Commission stephanie.monaghan@ holds a public hearing. vermont.gov If you feel that any of the District Commission members listed on the ACT 250 NOTICE attached Certificate of MINOR APPLICATION Service under “For Your #4C0364-4 10 V.S.A. §§ Information” may have 6001 - 6093 a conflict of interest, On July 30, 2020, Lucy or if there is any other and Jim McCullough, reason a member should LLC, 592 Governor be disqualified from Chittenden Road, sitting on this case, Williston, VT 05495 please contact the filed application number District Coordinator as 4C0364-4 for a project soon as possible, and by generally described no later than August 31, as construction of a 2020.

24’ x 36’ three-door, open-style, garage If you have a disability barn on Lot #5 of a

previously-approved 6-lot subdivision (LUP #4C0364-3).

The Project is located directly southeast of the existing residence at 592 Governor Chittenden Road in Williston, Vermont.

The District 4 Environmental Commission is reviewing this application under Act 250 Rule 51—Minor Applications. A copy of the application and proposed permit are available for review at the office listed below.

The application and a draft permit may also be viewed on the Natural Resources Board’s web site (http://nrb. vermont.gov) by clicking on “Act 250 Database” and entering the project number “4C0364-4.”

No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before August 27, 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 6/6/16 4:34 PM contact the district coordinator at the telephone number listed below for more information. Prior to convening a hearing, the Commission must determine that substantive issues requiring a hearing have been raised. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

If you feel that any of the District Commission members listed on the attached Certificate of Service under “For Your Information” may have a conflict of interest, or if there is any other reason a member should be disqualified from sitting on this case, please contact the District Coordinator as soon as possible, and by no later than August 27, 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

fsb

FOR SALE BY OWNER

List your property here for 2 weeks for only $45! Contact Katie, 865-1020, ext. 10, fsbo@sevendaysvt.com.

THREE-ACRE BUILDING LOTS

HINESBURG - INVESTMENT PROPERTY Duplex: Two large adjacent apartments, upstairs and down.

Four bedroom unit 1,600 sq -ft . Three bedroom unit 1,269 sq-ft. Separate utilities. Strong rental history. Many upgrades. $307,000. Photos: bit.ly/hinesburgduplex Call 802.482.4659

Located off Cherry Tree Hill in East Montpelier on a private dirt road. Utilities have been run underground and permits are in place for building your dream home. Close to the elementary school and high school.

FSBO. Contact 802-272-7864.

project under the Act FSBO-Porter080520.indd 1

250 criteria. Non-party participants may also be allowed under 10 V.S.A. Section 6085(c)(5).

Dated at Essex Junction, Vermont this 4th day of August, 2020.

By: /s/ Stephanie H. Monaghan, District Coordinator 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 802-879-5662 stephanie.monaghan@ vermont.gov

ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION #4C0936-7 10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6093 On July 30, 2020, Richard Bove and Maria Barria, 218 Overlake Drive, Colchester, VT 05446 filed application number 4C0936-7 for a project generally described as the construction of an addition to an existing single family home and boundary line adjustments to combine Lots 10 & 11. The Project includes demolition of an existing pool, spa and terrace. The Project is located at 218 Overlake Drive in Colchester, Vermont.

The District 4 Environmental Commission is reviewing this application under Act 250 Rule 51—Minor Applications. A copy of the application and proposed permit are available for review at the office listed below.

The application and a draft permit may also be viewed on the Natural Resources Board’s web site (http://nrb. vermont.gov) by clicking on “Act 250 Database” and entering the project number “4C0936-7.”

No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before August 25, 2020, a person notifies the Commission of an issue or issues requiring the presentation of

evidence at a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing to the address below, must state the criteria or sub-criteria at issue, why a hearing is required and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing. Any hearing request by an adjoining property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. §6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. Prior to submitting a request for a hearing, please contact the district coordinator at the telephone number listed below for more information. Prior to convening a hearing, the Commission must determine that substantive issues requiring a hearing have been raised. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

If you feel that any of the District Commission members listed on the attached Certificate of Service under “For Your Information” may have a conflict of interest, or if there is any other reason a member should be disqualified from sitting on this case, please contact the District Coordinator as soon as possible, and by no later than August 25, 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 5:04 PM No hearing will be held 8/7/20 fsbo-muroski031820.indd 1 Municipal Planning and a permit may be Commission, the issued unless, on or Regional Planning before August 28, 2020, Commission, affected a person notifies the state agencies, and Commission of an issue adjoining property ownor issues requiring ers and other persons the presentation of to the extent that they evidence at a hearing, have a particularized or the Commission sets interest that may be afthe matter for a hearing fected by the proposed on its own motion. Any project under the Act person as defined in 10 250 criteria. Non-party V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1) may participants may also be request a hearing. Any allowed under 10 V.S.A. hearing request must be Section 6085(c)(5). in writing to the address below, must state the Dated at Essex criteria or sub-criteria Junction, Vermont this at issue, why a hearing 31st day of July, 2020. is required and what By: /s/ Stephanie H. additional evidence Monaghan will be presented at the District Coordinator hearing. Any hearing 111 West Street Essex request by an adjoining Junction, VT 05452 property owner or other 802-879-5662 person eligible for party stephanie.monaghan@ status under 10 V.S.A. vermont.gov §6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. Prior to ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR submitting a request APPLICATION #4C1041for a hearing, please 2 10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 contact the district - 6093 coordinator at the On June 8, 2020, telephone number Gonzo’s Golf Academy listed below for more at Kwini Golf Club, LLC information. Prior to and RAN Investments convening a hearing, Vermont, LLC filed the Commission must application number determine that substan4C1041-2 for a project tive issues requiring generally described as a hearing have been the construction of a 12 raised. Findings of Fact foot x 16 foot storage and Conclusions of Law building at the golf may not be prepared practice facility located unless the Commission at 5353 Spear Street in holds a public hearing.

Shelburne, Vermont. The application was deemed If you feel that any of complete on August 3, the District Commission 2020. members listed on the The District 4 Environmental Commission is reviewing this application under Act 250 Rule 51 -Minor Applications. A copy of the application and proposed permit are available for review at the office listed below.

The application and a draft permit may also be viewed on the Natural Resources Board’s web site (http://nrb. vermont.gov) by clicking on “Act 250 Database” and entering the project number “4C1041-2.”

attached Certificate of Service under “For Your Information” may have a conflict of interest, or if there is any other reason a member should be disqualified from sitting on this case, please contact the District Coordinator as soon as possible, and by no later than August 28, 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),

List your property here for 2 weeks for only $45!

CONTACT KATIE, 865-1020, EXT. 10 FSBO@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

please notify us as soon 3/16/20 development 5:03 PM renovaas possible, in order to tion of carriage barn to allow us as much time as convert second floor possible to accominto a residential unit; modate your needs. construction of a new detached cottage for an Parties entitled to additional residential participate are the unit for a total of fi ve Municipality, the units on-site; rearMunicipal Planning rangement of parking; Commission, the landscaping and fencing Regional Planning Commission, affected 3. 21-0050PD; 260 state agencies, and Manhattan Drive (RM, adjoining property ownWard 3C) Bissonette ers and other persons Property Management to the extent that they Construct triplex and have a particularized related parking as part interest that may be afof 3-lot planned unit fected by the proposed development project under the Act 4. 21-0026CA/CU; 110 250 criteria. Non-party participants may also be Mansfield Avenue (I, Ward 1E) CSC McAuley, allowed under 10 V.S.A. LLC Convert office area Section 6085(c)(5). within an existing buildDated at Essex ing into an additional Junction, Vermont this dwelling unit 5th day of August, 2020.

By: /s/Rachel Lomonaco, Plans may be viewed upon request by conRachel Lomonaco, tacting the Department District Coordinator of Permitting & 111 West Street Essex Inspections between Junction, VT 05452 the hours of 8:00 802-879-5658 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. rachel.lomonaco@ Participation in the vermont.gov DRB proceeding is a prerequisite to the right to take any subsequent BURLINGTON appeal. Please note that DEVELOPMENT REVIEW ANYTHING submitted BOARD TUESDAY, to the Zoning office SEPTEMBER 1, 2020, is considered public 5:00 PM PUBLIC and cannot be kept HEARING NOTICE confidential. This may REMOTE MEETING not be the final order Zoom: https://us02web. in which items will be zoom.us/j/8983725944 heard. Please view 8?pwd=ajc5TDJBQU81R final Agenda, at www.

2did0lUT0dvN3M0Zz09 burlingtonvt.gov/dpi/ Webinar ID: drb/agendas or the 89837259448 office notice board, one Password: 842557 week before the hearing Telephone: for the order in which +19292056099 or items will be heard. +13017158592 or +13126266799 or The City of Burlington +16699006833 or will not tolerate +12532158782 or unlawful harassment +13462487799 or discrimination on the basis of political or 1. 21-0080AP; 111 North religious affiliation, race, Cove Road (RL-W, Ward color, national origin, 7N) Jacob Schumann place of birth, ancestry, Appeal of Violation age, sex, sexual orientaNotice #380819 regardtion, gender identity, ing unpermitted change marital status, veteran of use to a dwelling status, disability, HIV positive status, crime 2. 20-0875CA; 115 victim status or genetic North Union Street information. The City (RM, Ward 2C) Gerard is also committed to Williams Planned unit providing proper access

to services, facilities, and employment opportunities. For accessibility information or alternative formats, please contact Human Resources Department at (802) 540-2505.

NORTHSTAR SELF STORAGE WILL BE HAVING A PUBLIC AND ONLINE SALE/AUCTION FOR THE FOLLOWING STORAGE UNITS ON AUGUST 26, 2020 AT 9:00AM Northstar Self Storage will be having a public and online sale/auction on August 26, 2020 at 615 US RT 7, Danby, VT 05739 (Units D-114) and at 1124 Charlestown Rd., Springfield, VT 05156 (Unit S-114 / 119 / 128) and online at www. storagetreasures. com at 9:00 am in accordance with VT Title 9 Commerce and Trade Chapter 098: Storage Units 3905.

Enforcement of Lien.

Unit #D-114 Daniel Davis, Household Goods.

Unit #S-114 Lori Page, Household Goods.

Unit #S-119 Benjamin Mulvaney, Household Goods.

Unit #S-128 Katherine Corcoran, Household Goods

NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO BROWNFIELDS REUSE AND ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY LIMITATION ACT PROGRAM Please take notice that Heidi Conant whose mailing address is 243 Weaver Street, Winooski, Vermont , is applying to the Vermont Brownfields Reuse and Environmental Liability Limitation Program (10 V.S.A. §6641 et seq.) in connection with the redevelopment of the property known as 10-14 Stevens Street in the city of Winooski, Vermont.

A copy of the

application, which contains a preliminary environmental assessment and a description of the proposed redevelopment project is available for public review at the Winooski Clerk’s Office and at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation offices in Montpelier.

Comments concerning the application and/or the above referenced documents may be directed by mail to the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Waste Management Division, 1 National Life Drive – Davis 1, Montpelier, VT 05620; attention: Trish Coppolino. Telephone inquiries may be directed to Vermont DEC at 802-828-1138.

NOTICE OF LEGAL SALE Public Sale - contents of Units 15 and 49 (James Curry - household goods) to satisfy outstanding debt. Lowell’s Moving & Storage, 6 Ethan Allen Drive, South Burlington, VT. August 15, 2020, 9:00 am - Noon. All sales final and must be removed same day.

NOTICE OF TAX SALE TOWN OF COLCHESTER The resident and nonresident owners, lien holders and mortgagees of lands in the Town of Colchester in the County of Chittenden are hereby notified that the taxes or delinquencies assessed by such Town remain, either in whole or in part, unpaid on the following described lands in such Town, to wit: Property Owner: Tonya Gabert (with interest of Ditech Financial, LLC)Property Address: 102 Canyon Estates Drive Parcel ID # 22-048003-0000000

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

LEGALS » 59

156 Battery Street Burlington, VT 05401 kshamis@msdvt.com (802) 660-4735

[CONTINUED] All and the same lands and premises conveyed to the said Tonya Gabert by Quitclaim Deed of Brian Gabert dated August 14, 2007 and recorded at Volume 594, Page 346, and

by Warranty Deed of Benjamin C. Martin, II and Gail E. Martin to Brian Gabert and Tonya Gabert dated March 27, 2001 and recorded at Volume 346, Page 213.

Ditech Financial, LLC’s interest is by Complaint for Foreclosure in the matter Ditech Financial, LLC f/k/s Green Tree Servicing LLC v. Tonya L. Gabert and Citibank (South Dakota) N.A., Occupants of 102 Canyon Estates Drive, Colchester VT dated June 6, 2018 and recorded at Volume 837, Page 673, Judgment and Decree of Foreclosure by Judicial Sale dated January 17, 2019 and recorded at Volume 861, Page 202, and Certificate of Non-Redemption dated August 26, 2019 and recorded at Volume 861, Page 201 of the Land Records of the Town of Colchester, Vermont.

Amount of delinquency, interest, cost and penalties: $100,952.80 Reference may be made to said deeds for a more particular description of said lands and premises, as the same appear in the Town Clerk’s Office of the Town of Colchester.

So much of such lands will be sold at public auction at the Town of Colchester, 781 Blakely Road, Colchester, Vermont 05478, on the 24th day of September, 2020 at 10:30 a.m., as shall be requisite to discharge such taxes with interest, costs and penalties, unless previously paid. Property owners, mortgagees, and lien holders may pay such taxes, interest, costs and penalties in full by cash or certified check made payable to the Town of Colchester.

At tax sale, successful bidders must pay in full by cash or certified check. No other payments accepted.

Any questions or inquiries regarding the above-referenced sale should be directed to the following address: Kristen E. Shamis, Esq. Monaghan Safar Ducham PLLC

60

Monaghan Safar Ducham PLLC, and the Town of Colchester give no opinion or certification as to the marketability of title to the above-referenced properties as held by the current owner/ taxpayer.

Dated at Colchester, Vermont, this 6th day of August, 2020. Julie Graeter, Collector of Delinquent Taxes Town of Colchester

STATE OF VERMONT - SUPERIOR COURT PROBATE DIVISION - CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO. 1340-1019 CNPR In re: Estate of Michael Steven Curavoo NOTICE TO CREDITORS To the Creditors of: Michael Steven Curavoo, late of Hinesburg, 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 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 will be barred forever if it is not presented as described above within the four (4) month period.

Dated: July 19, 2020 _/s/ Darcy L. Cochones_ Darcy L. Cochones, Executrix PO Box 103 Hinesburg, VT 05461 (802) 482-2019 Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: August 12, 2020 Name and Address of Probate Court: Vermont Superior Court Chittenden Unit - Probate Division PO Box 511 175 Main Street Burlington, VT 05402-0511

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO. 488-820 CNCV IN RE: ABANDONED MOBILE HOME OF SONJA MURRAY a/k/a SONYA MURRAY NOTICE OF HEARING A hearing on Sunset Lake Cooperative, Inc.’s Verified Complaint to declare as abandoned the mobile home of Sonja Murray located at the Sunset Lake Mobile Home Park, Lot #31, 58 Wile Street in Hinesburg, Vermont

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

and to authorize the sale by auction has been set for August 26, 2020 at 9:45 a.m. at the Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit, Civil Division, 175 Main Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401. Date: August 7, 2020 Nancy J. Bean, Docket Clerk VERIFIED COMPLAINT FOR ABANDONMENT PURSUANT TO 10 V.S.A. § 6249(h) (Auction) NOW COMES Sunset Lake Cooperative, Inc. (“Sunset Lake”), by and through its counsel Nadine L. Scibek, and hereby complains pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 6249 as follows: 1. Sunset Lake, a Vermont corporation with a principal place of business in Hinesburg, Vermont, is the record owner of a mobile home park known as Sunset Lake Mobile Home Park located in Hinesburg, Vermont (the “Park”).

2. Sonya Murray (“Murray”) is the record owner of a certain mobile home, described as a 1970, 3 bedroom, 1 Bath, 12’ x 65’ mobile home (the “Mobile Home”) located on Lot #31, Sunset Lake Mobile Home Park, 58 Wile Street in Hinesburg, Vermont according to the Town of Hinesburg Land Records. See attached Mobile Home Bill of Sale.

3. Murray leased the Lot in the Park from Sunset Lake for her mobile home pursuant to an oral lease. No security deposit was paid.

4. Murray’s last known mailing address is 58 Wile Street, Hinesburg, VT 05461.

5. The mobile home has been abandoned and is empty. The last known residents of the mobile home were Murray and her boyfriend Josh Emmons Murray.

Murray was evictedfrom the Park for non-payment of rent on or about January 23, 2020. A Judgment for outstanding rent, and court costs was entered against her on October 14, 2019 in the amount of $2,251.18. See Sunset Lake Cooperative, Inc. v. Emmons-Murray, et. al., Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Civil Unit, Docket No. 871-919 Cncv. See attached Judgment/Alias Writ of Possession/Sheriff’s return of service. A Writ of Possession was issued by the Court on October 14, 2019 and an Alias Writ of Possession was issued by the Court on January 22, 2020.

Murray has made no efforts or attempts to remove the home from the Park.

6. The Park’s counsel has communicated in

writing with Murray.

See attached letter dated January 30, 2020. When Counsel last spoke with Murray in January, 2020 she indicated that she wanted to sell the mobile home. In mid-April, 2020 Murray removed all of her belongings from the mobile home.

Sunset Lake has not heard from her for a few weeks. Sunset Lake has received three (3) applications with the last one being about a month ago and all applications for potential buyers were denied as they did not pass the screening criteria.

7. The following security interests, mortgages, liens and encumbrances appear of record with respect to the mobile home: a. Murray is in arrears on obligations to pay property taxes to the Town of Hinesburg, Vermont in the aggregate amount of $1,455.07, plus any additional interest and penalties. The delinquent property taxes are now a lien on the property. b. Sunset Lake Cooperative, Inc. v.

Emmons Murray, et. al., Judgment Order dated October 14, 2019, Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Civil Division.

8. Licensed auctioneer Uriah Wallace is a person disinterested in the mobile home and the mobile home park who is able to sell the mobile home at a public auction.

9. Mobile home storage fees continue to accrue at the rate of $455.00 per month. Rent, storage fees, and late charges due Sunset Lake as of August 4, 2020 total $3,683.00.

Attorney’s fees and court costs incurred

by Sunset Lake as of August, 2020 exceed $3,000.00.

10. Sunset Lake sent written notice by certified mail to the Town of Hinesburg on April 23, 2020 of Plaintiff’s intent to commence this action.

See attached.

WHEREFORE, Sunset Lake respectfully requests that the Honorable Court enter an order as follows: 1. Declare that the mobile home has been abandoned; 2. Approve the sale of the mobile home at a public auction to be held within fi fteen (15) days of the date of judgment, pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 6249(h); and 3. Grant judgment in favor of Sunset Lake, Park Owner and against the mobile home for past due and unpaid rent and mobile home storage charges through the date of judgment, together

with Sunset Lake’s court costs, publication and mailing costs, auctioneer’s costs, winterization costs, lot cleanup charges, attorney’s fees incurred in connection with this matter and any other costs incurred by Park Owner herein.

DATED at Burlington, Vermont this 6th day of August, 2020.

SUNSET LAKE COOPERATIVE, INC. BY: Nadine L. Scibek Attorney for Sunset Lake Cooperative, Inc. I declare that the above statement is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand that if the above statement is false, I will be subject to the penalty of perjury or other sanctions in the discretion of the Court.

DATED this 6th day of August, 2020. BY: Silvia Iannetta, Duly Authorized Agent for Sunset Lake Cooperative, Inc.

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT DOCKET NO. 487-8-20 CNCV IN RE: ABANDONED MOBILE HOME OF MARK W. PARKER. NOTICE OF HEARING: A hearing on Ship Sevin, LLC’s Verified Complaint to declare as abandoned the mobile home of Mark W. Parker located at the Triple L Mobile Home Park, 159 Hillview Terrace, Lot #36, in Hinesburg, Vermont and to authorize the sale by auction has been set for August 26, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. at the Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit, Civil Division, 175 Main Street, Burlington, Vermont 05401. Date: August 7, 2020. Nancy J. Bean, Docket Clerk VERIFIED COMPLAINT FOR ABANDONMENT PURSUANT TO 10 V.S.A. § 6249(h) (Auction) NOW COMES Ship Sevin, LLC (“Ship Sevin”), by and through its counsel Nadine L. Scibek, and hereby complains pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 6249 as follows: 1. Ship Sevin, a Vermont limited liability company with a principal place of business in South Burlington, Vermont, is the record owner of a mobile home park known as Triple L Mobile Home Park located in Hinesburg, Vermont (the “Park”).

2. Mark W. Parker (“Parker”) is the record owner of a certain mobile home, described

as a 1980 Liberty, 14’ x 70’ mobile home, bearing Serial Number 16448 (the “Mobile Home”) located on Lot #36, Triple L Mobile Home Park, 159 Hillview Terrace in Hinesburg, Vermont according to the Town of Hinesburg Land Records. See attached Mobile Home Bill of Sale.

3. Parker leased a Lot in the Park from Ship Sevin for his mobile home pursuant to an oral lease. Parker paid the Park a security deposit in the amount of $343.00.

4. Parker’s last known mailing address is 159 Hillview Terrace, Hinesburg, VT 05461.

5. The mobile home has been abandoned and is empty. The last known resident of the mobile home was Parker. Parker was evicted from the Park for non-payment of rent on or about December 17, 2019 and the mobile home has been unoccupied since that time. A Judgment for outstanding rent, and court costs was entered against him on November 18, 2019 in the amount of $1,855.98 along with a Writ of Possession.

See Ship Sevin, LLC v. Parker, Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Civil Unit, Docket No. 900-10-19 Cncv. See attached Judgment. See attached. Parker has made no efforts or attempts to remove the home from the Park.

6. The Park’s counsel has communicated in writing with Parker and he has failed to give any indication of his intentions with respect to his mobile home. See attached letter dated January 14, 2020. The Park has heard nothing from him since his eviction.

7. The following security interests, mortgages, liens and encumbrances appear of record with respect to the Mobile Home: a. Parker is in arrears on obligations to pay property taxes to the Town of Hinesburg, Vermont in the aggregate amount of $598.21, plus any additional interest and penalties. The delinquent property taxes are now a lien on the property. b. Dunn v. Parker, Child Support Order, Vermont Superior Court, Addison Family Division, dated July 13, 2006, and recorded in the Hinesburg Land Records on February 22,2016 in Volume 247 at Pages 389-395. c. Ship Sevin, LLC v.

Parker, Judgment Order dated November 18, 2019, Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Civil

Division.

8. Licensed auctioneer Uriah Wallace is a person disinterested in the Mobile Home and the mobile home park who is able to sell the Mobile Home at a public auction.

9. Mobile home storage fees continue to accrue at the rate of $374.00 per month. Rent and storage fees due Ship Sevin as of August 6, 2020 total $4,844.00.

Attorney’s fees and court costs incurred

by Ship Sevin as of August 6, 2020 exceed $2,000.00.

10. Ship Sevin sent written notice by certified mail to the Town of Hinesburg on March 13, 2020 of Plaintiff’s intent to commence this action.

See attached.

WHEREFORE, Ship Sevin respectfully requests that the Honorable Court enter an order as follows: 1. Declare that the mobile home has been abandoned; 2. Approve the sale of the mobile home at a public auction to be held within fi fteen (15) days of the date of judgment, pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 6249(h); and 3. Grant judgment in favor of Ship Sevin, Park Owner and against the mobile home for past due and unpaid rent and mobile home storage charges through the date of judgment, together with Ship Sevin’s court costs, publication and mailing costs, auctioneer’s costs, winterization costs, lot cleanup charges, attorney’s fees incurred in connection with this matter and any other costs incurred by Park Owner herein.

DATED at Burlington, Vermont this 6th day of August, 2020.

By: Nadine L. Scibek, Esq. Attorney for Ship Sevin, LLC I declare that the above statement is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand that if the above statement is false, I will be subject to the penalty of perjury or other sanctions in the discretion of the Court.

DATED this 6th day of August, 2020. By: Cynthia Whitham Duly Authorized Agent for Ship Sevin, LLC

STATE OF VERMONT VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT FRANKLIN UNIT, CIVIL DIVISION DOCKET NO: 174-5-18 FRCV BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. v. SHAWN P. DILLON AND FAIRFAX GREEN HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION

OCCUPANTS OF: 63 Old Academy Road Unit 102, Fairfax VT MORTGAGEE’S NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE OF REAL PROPERTY UNDER 12 V.S.A. sec 4952 et seq.

In accordance with the Judgment Order and Decree of Foreclosure entered September 13, 2019 , in the above captioned action brought to foreclose that certain mortgage given by Shawn P. Dillon to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee for Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., dated August 31, 2007 and recorded in Book 187 Page 228 of the land records of the Town of Fairfax, of which mortgage the Plaintiff is the present holder, by virtue of the following Assignments of Mortgage: (1) Assignment of Mortgage from Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee for Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. to Bank of America, N.A. f/k/a BAC Home Loans Servicing LP fka Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP dated October 14, 2009 and recorded in Book 202 Page 776 and (2) Assignment of Mortgage from Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee for Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. to Bank of America, N.A. f/k/a BAC Home Loans Servicing LP fka Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP dated June 4, 2012 and recorded in Book 220 Page 357 of the land records of the Town of Fairfax for breach of the conditions of said mortgage and for the purpose of foreclosing the same will be sold at Public Auction at 63 Old Academy Road Unit 102, Fairfax, Vermont on September 9, 2020 at 10:00 AM all and singular the premises described in said mortgage, To wit: Being all and the same lands and premises conveyed to Shawn Dillion by Warranty Deed of Armand W Turner, JR. of even date and to be recorded prior to the recording of this instrument in the Town of Fairfax Land Records.

Reference is made to a Quit Claim Deed from Bonnie Howard to Armand W. Turner, Jr. dated February 16, 2007 and recorded February 22, 2007 in Volume 183, Pages 126-127 of the Town of Fairfax Land Records quit claiming all of Bonnie Howard’s

TEN THOUSAND ($10,000.00) Dollars of the purchase price must be paid by a certified check, bank treasurer’s or cashier’s check at the time and place of the sale by the purchaser. The balance of the purchase price shall be paid by a certified check, bank treasurer’s or cashier’s check within sixty (60) days after the date of sale.

MORTGAGEE’S NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE OF REAL PROPERTY UNDER 12 V.S.A. sec 4952 et seq. In accordance with the Judgment Order and Decree of Foreclosure entered November 6, 2019 , in the above captioned action brought to foreclose that certain mortgage given

by Scott Anderson and Virginia Anderson to Option One Mortgage Corporation, dated April 15, 2005 and recorded in Book 207 Page 534 of the land records of the Town of Barre, of which mortgage the

The mortgagor is entitled to redeem the premises at any time prior to the sale by paying the full amount due under the mortgage, including the costs and expenses of the sale. Other terms to be announced at the sale.

DATED: July 30, 2020 By: /s/ Rachel K. Ljunggren Rachel K. Ljunggren, Esq. Bendett and McHugh, PC 270

FROM P.57

4 6

2

2

5

3

4

5

1

Plaintiff is the present holder, by virtue of an Assignment of Mortgage from Option One Mortgage Corporation to Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Trustee for Asset Backed Securities Corporation Home Equity Loan Trust, Series OOMC 2005-HE6, Asset Backed Pass-Through Certificates, Series OOMC 2005-HE6 dated April 17, 2013 and recorded in Book 267 Page 999 of the land records of the Town of Barre for breach of the conditions of said mortgage and for the purpose of foreclosing the same will be sold at Public Auction at 100 Miller Road Ext, Barre, Vermont on September 10, 2020 at 9:30 AM all and singular the premises described in said mortgage, To wit: Being a parcel of land, said to contain 2.38 acres, more or less, together with dwelling house and other improvements thereon standing, now designated as 100 Miller Road Extension, Barre Town, Vermont, and being all and the same lands and premises as conveyed to Scott Anderson and Virginia Anderson by the Trustee's Deed of Barbara H. Schoenberg, Co- Trustee of the Betty Langrehr Johnson Revocable Trust - 2002, u/t/a dated January 31, 2002 as amended

by First Amendment dated January 10, 2005, which Deed is dated even with this instrument and to be recorded in the Barre Town Land Records, and being all and the same lands and premises conveyed to Betty Langrehr Johnson, Trustee of the Betty Langrehr Johnson Revocable Trust by Deed Into Trust of Betty L. Johnson, dated January 31, 2002 and recorded at Book 171, Pages 685-688 of the Barre Town Land Records, and described in part more particularly as follows: Lot #1 Being a part of the same land and premises conveyed to Betty L. Johnson by Mark A. Johnson by Quitclaim Deed dated January 4, 1999 and recorded in Book 153, Page 713 of the Land Records of Barre Town, Vermont. Being also part of the same land and premises conveyed to Mark A. Johnson and Betty L. Johnson

by Warranty Deed of Richard B. Betters, Jr., and Janet Betters dated August 6, 1979 and recorded in Book 78, Pages 487¬488 of

7 2 6 4 3 8 9 1 5

8 4 5 1 9 7 3 6 2

3 1 9 6 2 5 4 8 7

FROM P.57

3

6

5

4

1

1

4

5

6

3 6 5 8 7 4 2 1 3 9

2 1 3 4 9 5 6 2 7 8

2 3 6 1 4

9Difficulty 4 - Medium 5 7 9 6 2 7 3 8 5 2 1 8 7 3 1 4 5 6 8 4 2 9 6 3 1

1 5 3 2 6 2 8 1 3 6 9 7 5 4

2÷

the Land Records of Barre Town, Vermont.

Said Lot #1 is more particularly described in Subdivision Map 1935, approved by the Barre Town Planning Commission on February 14, 2001, P-00-12-49, as recorded in Slide 245 of the Land Records of Barre Town, Vermont.

The within conveyed lands and premises are subject to the terms and conditions of State of Vermont Subdivision Permit C-5-3435, dated January 30, 2001 and recorded in Book 163 at Page 20 of the Barre Town Land Records.

Reference is made to a certain Certificate of Trust, which names Barbara H. Schoenberg as Co- Trustee of the Betty Langrehr Johnson Revocable Trust, dated January 10, 2005 and recorded at Book 205, Page 206 of the Barre Town Land Records.

This conveyance is made subject to and with the benefit of any utility easements, public rights-of-way, spring rights, easements for ingress and egress, and rights incidental to each of the same as may appear more particularly of record; provided, however, that this paragraph shall not reinstate any such encumbrance previously extinguished by the Marketable Record Title Act, Chapter 5, Subchapter 7 of Title 27, Vermont Statutes Annotated. If it should be determined that all or a portion of the conveyed lands and premises are Vermont perpetual lease land, then same are conveyed as such.

Reference is hereby made to the abovedescribed documents, and the documents described therein and to the municipal land records in aid of this description.

Reference is hereby made to the above instruments and to the records and references contained therein in further aid of this description.

Terms of sale: Said premises will be sold and conveyed subject to all liens, encumbrances, unpaid taxes, tax titles, municipal liens and assessments, if any, which take precedence over the said mortgage above described.

TEN THOUSAND ($10,000.00) Dollars of the purchase price must be paid by a certified check, bank treasurer’s or cashier’s

check at the time and place of the sale by the purchaser. The balance of the purchase price shall be paid by a certified check, bank treasurer’s or cashier’s check within sixty (60) days after the date of sale.

The mortgagor is entitled to redeem the premises at any time prior to the sale by paying the full amount due under the mortgage, including the costs and expenses of the sale.

Other terms to be announced at the sale.

DATED : July 30, 2020 By: _/s/ Rachel K. Ljunggren_ Rachel K. Ljunggren, Esq. Bendett and McHugh, PC 270 Farmington Ave., Ste. 151 Farmington, CT 06032

TOWN OF ESSEX ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT PUBLIC HEARING MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE ROOM 81 MAIN STREET, ESSEX JCT., VT SEPTEMBER 3, 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)3773784 | Conference ID: 480347627# 1. Conditional Use: E O F Outlets LLC is proposing a light manufacturing use for a CBD bakery and distribution located at 25 Essex Way in the MXD-PUD & B-DC Zones. Tax Map 92, Parcel 2-1.

2. Conditional Use: Nancy & Bonnie Bordelon are proposing to operate a B&B/ Airbnb located at 84 Sawmill Road in the C1 District. Tax Map 16, Parcel 16.

3. Variance: Handy Hotels & Rentals LLC & Champlain Housing Trust are converting a 115 room hotel into 62 multi-family units.

A variance to add 6 additional multi-family units is proposed for property located at 27 Susie Wilson Road in the B1 District. Tax Map 47, Parcel 12.

4. Minutes: July 2, 2020 Note: Visit our website at www.essexvt.org if you have questions or call 802-878-1343.

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

10x

3-

2-

÷ 649 3No.

14+

15x

3Difficulty: Hard

PUZZLE ANSWERS

Being all and the same lands and premises conveyed to Armand Turner and Bonnie Howard

by Warranty Deed of Fairfax Investments, LLP dated November 10, 2006 and of record at Book 181, Pages 247-248 of the Town of Fairfax Land Records.

Terms of sale: Said premises will be sold and conveyed subject to all liens, encumbrances, unpaid taxes, tax titles, municipal liens and assessments, if any, which take precedence over the said mortgage above described.

4

Said premises are subject to the terms and conditions of Wastewater System and Potable Water Supply Permit WW-6-0842-1 as recorded in Volume 173, Pages 572-574 of said Land Records; and Land Use Permit 6F0561-2 as recorded in Volume 164 at Pages 556-560 and the permits recited therein.

Reference is made to project review sheets

Grantor reserves the right to convey the development roadway, partially located on the above-described lots, to the Town of Fairfax as a public highway. In such event, Grantee, its successors add assigns, shall have no ownership interest in and to that portion of the above-described lots as shown on the above-described plan as 60 Access R.O.W.

Reference is hereby made to the above instruments and to the records and references contained therein in further aid of this description.

5

Said Unit, and the lands and premises of which it is a part, are subject to and/or benefited by: (I) easements, rights of way and other restrictions of record, (ii) those in Lot 3A as shown on a map entitled Fairfax Investments, LLP, Fairfax, Vermont, Map of Subdivision, Vt. Route 104, Fairfax, Vermont, dated April 30, 2003, last revised September 8, 2005,

Included with said lot is one membership in the Fairfax Green Homeowners Association, Inc., which membership is appurtenant to the lot and may not be conveyed separately therefrom. Membership in the Association and the obligations of the Association may not be waived by any lot owner.

STATE OF VERMONT VERMONT SUPERIOR COURTWASHINGTON UNIT, CIVIL DIVISION DOCKET NO: 686-11-17 WNCV WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR ASSET BACKED SECURITIES CORPORATION HOME EQUITY LOAN TRUST, SERIES OOMC 2005HE6, ASSET BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES OOMC 2005-HE6 v.

SCOTT ANDERSON AKA SCOTT J. ANDERSON, VIRGINIA ANDERSON AKA VIRGINIA L. ANDERSON, COMMUNITY NATIONAL BANK, GRIP-TITE MANUFACTURING CO., LLC, VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF TAXES AND PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES, LLC OCCUPANTS OF: 100 Miller Road Ext, Barre VT.

3

The 63 Old Academy Street Condominium site plan titled Old Academy Street Condominium Site Plan, Fairfax, Vermont dated August 2007 prepared

by David A. Tudhpope to be recorded in the Town of Fairfax Land Records. The 63 Old Academy Street Condominium floor plans prepared by Frank Naef, Architect, dated July 20, 2007 to be recorded in the Town of Fairfax Land Records.

Said premises are subject to and have the benefit of the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions of Fairfax Green dated November 4, 2005 and recorded in Volume 174 at Page 171 of said Land Records.

Farmington Ave., Ste. 151 Farmington, CT 06032

Reference is made to the aforementioned deed, and to the record thereof, and to the deeds and records therein referred to in further aid of this description.

2

Said Unit is subject to a Declaration of Condominium for 63 Old Academy Street Condominium dated August 31, 2007; and is associated bylaws, rules, regulations, plats and plans and to be recorded in the Town of Fairfax Land Records.

Said lots have the benefit of and are subject to rights of way for foot and vehicular traffic and the installation of utility services over all developed streets in the Grantor’s subdivision, including the street constructed on Lot IC as shown on the above-described plan providing access to and from Vermont Route 104. Said rights shall terminate at such time, if ever, as the Town of Fairfax accepts the rights of way as public streets, and the installation, repair, maintenance and replacement of utilities. This right of way is a portion of the same lands and premises conveyed to Fairfax Investments, LLP by Trustees Deed of Gerald F. Minor, Trustee for the Gerald F. Minor Revocable Trust dated July 24, 2002 and recorded July 30, 2002 in Volume 138, Pages 451-454 of the Town of Fairfax Land Records.

dated October 2, 2005 approving a modification of the wastewater disposal service as filed for record.

1

Being Unit B of 63 Old Academy Street Condominium, together with a 50% allocated interest and all rights, obligations and interests appurtenant thereto, which condominium regime is located at 63 Old Academy Street, Fairfax, Vermont.

prepared by Cross Consulting Engineers, PC, and recorded as Map Slide 240A of the Town of Fairfax Land Records.

6

interest in said Lot 3A to Armand W. Turner, Jr.

61

62 AUGUST 12-19, 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 PROGRAM MANAGER

CARPENTER/ SKI TECHNICIAN Our companies are looking for an individual who is interested in a unique employment opportunity. The position involves a dual work environment. Specifically, the position entails working the spring and summer building porches, decks and small additions, while the winter months entail working in a ski and snowboard service shop.

Experience is preferred; however, training is provided for both areas.

The atmosphere is fast paced and energetic. We offer performance based advancement.

If this sounds like a good fit and you want to join our team, please e mail cover letter and resume. davidcone23@comcast.net

SUBSTITUTES NEEDED! ESSEX WESTFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT

If so, we want to hear from you!

The Essex Westford School District is currently hiring for substitute positions to work on an “as-needed” basis throughout our schools. Our short-term substitute teaching and paraeducator pay rate is $126/day. Our school nurse substitute rate is $260/day.

For more information and to apply, visit ewsd.org/subs.

Essex Westford School District 51 Park St., Essex Jct., VT 05452

SENIOR ACCOUNTANT

3v-DCConstruction081220.indd 1

1 8/11/203V-EssexWestfordSD080520.indd 2:35 PM

RN, LPN, AND LNAs

For full job description and to apply: downstreet.org/careers

8/11/20

Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) has RN, LPN, and LNA openings in our ER, ICU, Med/Surg, Birth Center, and Medical Office Practices.

Full-time, part-time and per-diem positions available.

Send resume and cover email to outdoors@onionriver.com.

NVRH is proud to offer competitive wages, student loan repayment, tuition reimbursement, shift differentials and per-diem rates. We offer a comprehensive benefits package for full and part-time employees including a generous earned time program, 401k with company match, low cost health plans, low cost prescriptions and more. New Grads welcome!

For more info or to apply visit nvrh.org/careers.

MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN

7/31/204t-NVRH070120.indd 2:54 PM 1

Work with purpose!

This full-time, salaried position offers fulfilling work, great benefits & the best team in Central VT!

Koffee Kup Bakery is currently hiring in our Burlington location. The schedule for this position is Tues-Sat, 4am–12:30pm.

Prior Manufacturing Maintenance experience is desired, but applicants with a mechanical or electrical background will be considered. The Maintenance Technician will respond to reactive calls as well as perform PM tasks on a scheduled basis. $21.00–$23.00 per hour.

We are a mission-driven non-profit organization dedicated to achieving social justice through the power of housing.

We are an equal opportunity employer.

Untitled-19 1

The Production Supervisor is a member of the Production Team reporting directly to the Plant Manager. The person in this position is responsible for supervising the production area and employees at our Burlington production facility.

This position requires at least 5 years of supervisory experience. Food production experience is preferred. This is a full time hourly position. Pay ranges from $25.00- $27.00 per hour. The schedule is Sun-Thurs 8:30pm-5:30am.

8/7/20 11:58 AM DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY

2v-OnionRiverOutdoors081220.indd 1

6/26/20

3RD SHIFT PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR downstreet.org

Enthusiastic outdoors people needed for full-time and part-time sales floor positions. Passion for outdoor pursuits, great communication skills, positive outlook, and personal experience with outdoor gear required. Bonus points for applicants 12:26 PMwho have retail background or experience leading/teaching outdoor activities. Some weekend and holiday hours are a given, but so is a fun workplace in an active community.

Paid vacation, competitive wages, and other benefits available.

If reasonable accommodation is needed to apply, please contact us at jobs@vtworksforwomen.org or 802-655-8900 x100.

2h-VTWorksforWomen081220.indd 1

Are you a caring, enthusiastic and flexible individual who enjoys interacting with children and youth? Do you want to help make a difference in your community?

Outdoor Gear Sales Associate

Vermont Works for Women seeks an innovative Program Manager to oversee the development and delivery of our youth programs focused on expanding STEM and career options for middle and high school girls and gender non-conforming youth. The position can be mainly remote during COVID. To see the full job description and details on how to apply, visit vtworksforwomen.org/about/employment.

Grounds for Health is an international non-profit focused on cervical cancer prevention through screen and treat programs in low income countries. We are currently working in Ethiopia and Kenya. We are seeking 3:05 PM someone with a passion for fundraising to join our small US team based in Williston.

This part-time position will be responsible for securing major philanthropic gifts, managing a portfolio of current and prospective donors, and procuring grant funding. For more information, visit our website at groundsforhealth.org.

To apply send resume and cover letter to kathy@groundsforhealth.org.

For full job description and to apply: koffeekupbakery.com/careers

6/18/204t-KoffeeKupBakery081220.indd 11:30 AM 1

1 8/7/203v-GroundsforHealth080520.indd 3:10 PM

7/31/20 4:04 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

W E A R E HI RI NG A Client Services Manager New Frameworks, a worker-owned cooperative design and construction company based in northern Vermont, is hiring!

63 AUGUST 12-19, 2020

RESTAURANT MANAGER

Bread Loaf Corporation, Vermont’s integrated company of architects, planners and builders, is looking for a Client Services Manager.

The Client Services Manager takes the lead in the business development process- identifying, developing, and closing prospective and existing client business. You must be fully engaged in the process of building strategic relationships with our clients and must find satisfaction in helping solve their problems. The person we hire should have a background in architecture or construction management, at least five years of experience in business development in the industry and be results-oriented and organized.

American Flatbread Middlebury Hearth is planning for our future! We’re hiring a Restaurant Manager to lead and support our incredibly hard working team, while continuing to drive our standard of excellence in customer service and quality of food and beverage.

If you have experience offering stellar customer service, possess great communication skills, work well with a team, know how to motivate others and have an interest in delicious, local and organic food, please forward your resume to Danielle@americanflatbread.com.

We are a busy, fun, egalitarian-yet-structured, creative, kind, and missionWe offer a positive and respectful work environment, driven group of people Bread Loaf offers a competitive salary, a comprehensive benefits competitive salary and vacation package, retirement plan and working together towards package and a friendly work environment. We thrive on innovative ideas other benefits. Please, only serious candidates interested in the goal of developing and excellent work. Interested candidates may send their resume to making a long term commitment and ability to work nights ecological and social climate smclaughlin@breadloaf.com. and weekends. EOE. justice and regeneration Visit www.breadloaf.com for a full company description. practices in the building and design trades. We're currently looking for: 4t-BreadLoaf080520 1 1 7/31/20 8/3/20 4t-AmericanFlatbread080520.indd 10:13 AM

3:02 PM

• Site Lead • Experienced Carpenter • Architectural Design/ Draftsperson Learn more and apply: tiny.cc/nfwjobs

3v-NewFrameworks081220.indd 1

8/7/20 2:49 PM

VT LEAD ABATEMENT SUPERVISOR/WORKER Join the Heritage Environmental Projects Inc. Team! Vermont's leading lead abatement/ paint/ window restoration company for over 28 years!

Must be a team player and a hard worker, able to work with and supervise others. Must have own transportation, valid driver’s license and positive attitude. Painting and carpentry experience a must.

Successful candidate must also be able to pass course exams for certifications.

Do you want to be protected and paid well?

Paid Holidays, vacations and bonuses over time with company, dedication and performance related.

Please call 802-363-1933 for an interview. We look forward to meeting you!

3v-HeritageEnvironmentalProjects081220.indd8/11/20 1 10:08 AM 1 Untitled-2

8/11/20 Untitled-21 12:11 PM 1

8/3/20 5:54 PM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

64

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

AUGUST 12-19, 2020

HUMAN RESOURCES COORDINATOR Do you want to work for an Agency that positively impacts the lives of over 20,000 individuals? The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) addresses fundamental issues of economic, social, and racial justice and works with people to achieve economic independence by “bridging gaps and building futures.” Our Administration programs seeks a motivated Human Resources professional with a passion for our mission.

Working as a member of Administration, the Human Resources Coordinator will provide support in a variety of areas including: employee recruitment, hiring and on-boarding, bill processing, maintaining confidential Human Resource files and systems, answering employee questions, and other administrative duties as required. This position works closely with the Human Resource Director and Deputy Director to address agency needs in regards to Human Resources. If you have an Associate degree in Business, Human Services, or a related field (Bachelor degree preferred) and three years of office administrative experience, with at least one year in human resources; and excellent verbal and written communication skills required, bilingual abilities are a plus, we’d like to hear from you!

This is a 35 hours/week position. To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume by e-mail to: hrcoord2020@cvoeo.org.

Interested in working with us? We offer a great working environment and an excellent benefit package including medical, dental and vision insurance, paid holidays, generous vacation and sick leave, a retirement plan and discounted gym membership.

To learn more please visit cvoeo.org/careers. Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until suitable applicants are found. No phone calls, please. CVOEO is an E.O.E.

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Want to help save the planet? THE NATURE CONSERVANCY in Vermont seeks a dynamic professional to serve as its full-time Director of Operations. This is an exceptional career opportunity for a highly motivated and skilled individual interested in joining the world’s leading conservation organization.

The Director of Operations (DOO) provides strategic direction and leadership for all activities related to General Office Operations, Human Resources, Finance, Facilities and Office Management for the Vermont Chapter. They are a member of the Vermont Leadership Team and will provide consultation to them on strategy and day to day tasks. The DOO reports directly to the State Director and acts as Leader for all staff on all people related needs within the Business Unit. They will be fully responsible for the oversight of human resources administrative and management needs, including staff performance and development programs. They will direct, lead, and operationalize a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative for the Chapter. The DOO will work closely with the leadership team to foster a strong workplace culture that is conducive to collaborative teamwork and high staff engagement.

The Nature Conservancy is a global non-profit that works in all 50 states and in over 70 countries. Join a growing team that is committed to building a future where both nature and people thrive. We offer a competitive salary with a comprehensive benefits package and professional development opportunities. A bachelor’s degree and 6 years related experience or equivalent combination required. For a complete position description and to apply, visit tinyurl.com/y2sxtjnb.

Application deadline is Midnight EST August 28, 2020.

Statewide CARES Rental Subsidy Benefit Specialist (2 positions)

5v-CVOEOhrcoord081220.indd 1

1 8/10/20 5v-NatureConservancy081220.indd 12:24 PM

The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity’s (CVOEO) Housing Advocacy Programs (HAP) seeks two experienced, energetic, and committed individuals with a high degree of initiative to join our team as the Statewide CARES Rental Subsidy Benefit Specialists.

The Statewide CARES Rental Subsidy Benefit Specialist provides rental assistance support through the CARES funding for individuals and households experiencing homelessness across Vermont.

This position includes technical and administrative work such as conducting eligibility assessments, reviewing subsidy applications for completeness, and ensuring compliance with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program and the CARES Act. He/She/They will work within the statewide housing advocacy team and ensure that participants have access to basic financial and tenant education opportunities and other resources that will support their housing stability.

Successful applicants will have a Bachelor degree in a related discipline plus two years of administrative or community service experience; strong verbal and written communication skills; ability to interact effectively and in a positive manner with a diverse population, landlords, and other social service providers; bilingual abilities are a plus. To learn more about this position, visit cvoeo.org/careers.

This is a 40 hours/week position (anticipated through March 2022) with health insurance and an excellent benefit package. To apply, please send a cover letter and resume to: HAPCares2020@cvoeo.org. Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until suitable candidates are found. E.O.E.

5v-CVOEOcaresRental081220.indd 1

Stowe Cable is expanding.

We are looking for an installer Technician to join our growing company.

The general scope of the job is installing and/or repairing cable TV, voice and high speed data or digital services inside and outside.

Responsibilities: • Perform upgrades, downgrades, pre-wiring and dwelling installs • Install drops, outlets, converters, cable modems, digital terminals and other cable system devices.

• Troubleshooting problems • Maintaining, securing and accounting for equipment inventories

Skills Needed:

8/10/20 12:34 PM

Accounts Payable/Payroll Specialist Do you want to work for an Agency that positively impacts the lives of over 20,000 individuals? The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) Finance department has a new opportunity for an Accounts Payable/Payroll Specialist.

The Accounts Payable/Payroll Specialist will assist the Finance Department by processing incoming invoices, disbursing payments and performing payroll and accounting tasks.

Successful applicants will have an Associate’s degree in Accounting or two to three years related work experience or training in accounting/bookkeeping, or a combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills are acquired; experience with accounting programs and payroll software; and proficient in the use of Microsoft Office. This is a 40 hours/week position. To learn more about this position, please visit cvoeo.org/careers.

We offer an excellent benefit package including medical, dental and vision insurance, paid holidays, generous vacation and sick leave, a retirement plan and discounted gym membership.

To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume by e-mail: Payable-Payroll2020@cvoeo.org. The review of applications begins immediately and will continue until suitable candidates are found. Applications from women, veterans and people from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds are encouraged to apply. CVOEO is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

8/10/20 5v-CVOEOaccountspayable081220.indd 12:38 PM 1

INSTALLER TECHNICIAN

• Ability to carry and climb an 80 lb, 28 ft extension ladder • Work with hand and power tools • Work outdoors in all types of weather conditions • Present a positive, professional and courteous image to our customers • Have a strong work ethic relating to quality and attendance • On call rotation is a must

We are a small local company that prides ourselves on our customers and our work family. Competitive pay and benefits. We will train the right person.

Job Type: Full-time Pay: based on experience christi@stowecable.com stowecable.com

8/11/20LS-StoweCable080520.indd 2:40 PM 1

8/4/20 3:17 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

65 AUGUST 12-19, 2020

Primary Therapists/ Therapists in Training Burlington Kids Afterschool Core Staff Positions Available!

Valley Vista is seeking Primary Therapists and Therapists in Training at our Bradford and Vergennes facility. Join a team that works collaboratively to provide those struggling with addiction with a supportive and therapeutic experience.

Ideal applicants will have a passion for working with elementary age children, an enthusiasm for creating and leading meaningful activities and experience working in afterschool and/ or licensed childcare settings.

These are part-time positions working with students at five Burlington School District elementary schools, MondayFriday, 15-20 hours/week.

Hourly rate commensurate with skills and experience.

*Other positions available. Please check full listing on Indeed.com.

For more information please email Karlie Gunderson, Senior Site Director: kgunders@bsdvt.org.

To apply and join our team: bsdvt.org/careers or apply on SchoolSpring.com, Job Posting #2739086.

3v-BurlingtonAfterSchool080520.indd 1

ESSENTIAL DUTIES: • Provide comprehensive clinical assessments of patients • Development of patient treatment plan • Counsels patients in group or individual sessions • Provides group, individual and family counseling • Complete patient care documentation

EQUITY RESEARCH ANALYST Rock Point Advisors, LLC, based in Burlington, VT, is a wealth advisory firm focused on helping clients make sound financial decisions and take advantage of the benefits of long-term investing. We are looking for a full-time analyst to join our team to help identify and analyze potential investment opportunities, build and maintain earnings and valuation models and serve as a member of our Investment Committee.

• Completes discharge & aftercare functions of the master treatment plan

Relevant experience is required with a CFA designation preferred.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Salary and Benefits:

Licensed Primary Therapist: Master’s degree + Addiction and Drug Counselor License (LADC) Therapist in Training: Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree in Mental Health, Behavioral Health, Psychology or similar. Must be working toward licensure or certification.

• 2+ years’ experience as a clinician, behavioral therapist, or case manager is strongly preferred.

• MSW, LADC, and/or LMHC preferred.

• A minimum of two years’ freedom from chemical abuse problems.

JOB TYPE: Full-time Send cover letter and resumes to: jenny.gilman@vvista.net

• Salary commensurate with experience and position • Benefits include paid vacation, dental and health care insurance, 401(k) matching Qualified candidates should send their cover letter and resume to info@rockpointadvisors.com.

Please, No Phone Calls Rock Point School is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Seven Days 8/4/205v-RockPointAdvisors081220.indd 3:24 PM Issue: 8/12 Due: 8/10 by 11am Size: 3.83 x 5.25 Cost: $476.85 (with 1 week online)

8/4/20 5v-ValleyVista080520.indd 12:18 PM 1

Engaging minds that change the world

1

8/7/20 1:43 PM

Center for Health and Wellbeing Student Health Services Per Diem Nursing positions (RN – LPN – LNA) We are looking for clinical staff team members responsible for patient screening and tasks associated with maintaining efficient patient flow and quality health care in our busy outpatient office for this fall semester.

Excellent interpersonal skills, proficiency in basic nursing procedures (i.e., immunizations, office laboratory tests, EKGs), history taking and patient education, a must.

Successful candidates will work as part of a strong, supportive, and fun clinical team providing health care for students attending the University of Vermont.

Desired qualifications: • Knowledge of developmental issues of adolescents and young adults and experience working with college-age population.

• Computer skills sufficient to maintain proper medical records and complete clinically-related administrative tasks via our electronic medical records.

• Ability to communicate clearly in person, via phone, and in writing with students, families and other student health staff of a variety of disciplines.

• Ability to work in a respectful and non-judgmental manner.

We are looking for someone to work up to 37.5 hours weekly with occasional Saturday morning hours. We offer competitive hourly wages.

Per diem employment does not include the UVM benefits package. For more information about the Center for Health and Wellbeing and Student Health Services, visit www.uvm.edu/health. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled. To apply, send cover letter and resume to Lisa St. Onge at lastonge@uvm.edu. Please indicate in the email subject line “Per diem Nursing application”.

The University of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

Untitled-1 1 5v-GraystoneRNlnaLPN081220.indd 1

8/7/20 2:52 PM

8/10/20 9:30 AM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

66

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

AUGUST 12-19, 2020

Commercial Roofers

DEPUTY/DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Apply in person at: A.C. Hathorne Co. 252 Avenue C Williston, VT 802-862-6473

2h-ACHathorne080520.indd 1

Low Barrier Shelter Campground Staff

Full-time, year-round employment. Good benefits.

Experience in installing Epdm, Tpo, Pvc roofing.

EOE/M/F/VET/Disability employer.

Pay negotiable with experience.

Prevent Child Abuse Vermont (PCAVT) is seeking candidates for the position of Deputy/Development Director. This position includes management of individual and corporate gifts and special events and is also responsible for implementing a communication plan using traditional and social media.

Service Opportunity

8/4/20 2:59 PMThe

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN PEOPLE’S LIVES!

2 Full-time AmeriCorps Positions with a National Leader in Affordable Housing

Three shifts available: • 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

• 4:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.

•12:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.

Overnight Residential Counselor 89 North St. 9:00pm-8:00am

successful candidate must be passionate about our mission, a good communicator, easy to work with, competent, organized and willing to ask for philanthropic support of PCAVT. An undergraduate degree is required; advanced degree is desirable.

Interested applicants should go to the following link to fill out an online employment application: anewplacevt.org/ employment.html.

Please submit a cover letter, resume, PCAVT online application and 3 references to: Search, PO Box 829, Montpelier, VT 05601.

Contact Kevin Pounds, Exec.

Director, with any questions: kevin@anewplacevt.org 802-862-9879 ext. 1001.

Champlain Housing Trust’s HomeOwnership Center, serving the affordable housing needs of Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle Or submit online at pcavt@pcavt.org. PCAVT is an E.O.E. Counties, is seeking a Home Education Coordinator and Shared Equity Coordinator. These dynamic 11+ month positions require a Bachelors degree or related 4t-PreventChildAbuseVT081220.indd 1 8/7/202v-ANEW081220.indd 1:54 PM work experience, proficient computer and writing skills, and a commitment to community service.

Experience in housing, teaching, or lending is a plus.

Positions start September 9, 2020. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.

Visit https://vhcb.org/our-programs/vhcb-americorps/positions for info and to apply. Questions? Contact Jaclyn at 861-7338.

EQUAL OPPORTUNIT Y EMPLOYER - COMMIT TED TO A DIVERSE WORKPLACE.

637CHT-HR_Americorps_7D-2020.indd 4t-ChamplainHousingTrust080520 1 1

7/29/20 7/28/20 10:52 4:20 PM AM

ASSESSMENT ADMINISTRATOR Seeking motivated individuals to proctor in-school assessment sessions with 4th- and 8th-grade students for the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Must be available to work January 25 –March 5, 2021.

Paid training, paid time and mileage reimbursement for local driving, and weekly paychecks. This is a part-time, temporary position. For more information, visit workNAEP.com and provide your name and email. We will contact you with a link to our online application when it is available. Online applications are now being accepted.

Questions? Email:NAEPrecruit@westat.com.

Protecting the health and safety of our employees and survey participants is a top priority for Westat.

Based on recommendations from the CDC and other public health authorities, we require staff protect and monitor their health while working on their assignment, which may include the use of personal protective equipment, regular testing for COVID-19 or other screening activities.The data collection window may be extended due to weather or other delays.

EOE Minorities/Females/Protected Veterans/Disabled

1

8/11/20 4:12 PM

HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATOR Vermont Legal Aid seeks candidates for a full-time Human Resources Administrator in our Burlington office. The HR Administrator handles and manages all aspects of payroll, benefits, and other HR-related tasks for two related non-profit law firms.

We are committed to building a diverse, social justice-oriented staff, and encourage applicants from a broad range of backgrounds. We welcome information about how your experience can contribute to serving our diverse client communities. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to a discrimination- and harassment-free workplace.

Responsibilities include processing bi-monthly payroll; administering cafeteria and 401(k) benefits plans, including onboarding/terminations; overseeing leave benefits, including FMLA; overseeing wage and data reporting, such as ACA and federal labor reports, 401(k) census, etc.; and, ensuring compliance with applicable state and federal labor laws. A minimum of five years’ relevant experience is required.

Base salary is $51,893 - $83,623 with salary credit given for relevant prior work experience. Four weeks paid vacation, retirement, and excellent health benefits.

Application deadline is August 24th. Your application should include a cover letter, resume, and three references combined into one pdf, sent by e-mail to Betsy Whyte at bwhyte@vtlegalaid.org with “HR Administrator” in the subject line. The full job description can be found at www.vtlegalaid.org/ current-openings. Please let us know how you heard about this position.

For more information and application instructions, visit: vtlegalaid.org.

9t-VTLegalAid081220.indd 1

5v-Westat081220.indd 1

8/11/20 2:52 PM

8/10/20 8:59 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

67 AUGUST 12-19, 2020

The Interim Director of Music

SERVICE TECH

The Interim Director of Music of the Unitarian Church of Montpelier creates and directs a program of stimulating/inspiring music for the church worship services. The Director also leads the Church Choir.

Tech needed for lawn sprinkler irrigation • Manual labor is required

Position is part-time, 0.4 FTE (16 hours/week) and will require work on most Sunday mornings. Full job description at tinyurl.com/UCM-Music-Director.

WE’RE HIRING!

We are currently interviewing for: Night Auditor This is a great full time employment opportunity offering competitive wages and benefits. Interested candidates can contact General Manager, Tim Brahmstedt at: tim.brahmstedt@marriott.com or (802) 872-5900.

4t-TownePlaceSuites081220.indd 1

• Cover letter explaining your motivation to apply, interest in the position, and relevant skills and experience • Resume • Two professional references • 1-2 musical samples if available (e.g. performance recordings, music videos, etc.)

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis beginning August 17th until August 30th and remain open until filled.

8/10/204t-UnitarinChurchMontpelier081220.indd 3:39 PM 1

HEALTH CARE ADVOCATE Vermont Legal Aid seeks candidates for a full-time legal helpline position within the Office of the Health Care Advocate (HCA) in our Burlington office.

The advocate will provide legal help over the phone to Vermonters with health care or health insurance problems.

We encourage applicants from a broad range of backgrounds, and welcome information about how your experience can contribute to serving our diverse client communities. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to a discrimination- and harassment-free workplace.

Responsibilities include advising consumers on their rights, investigating and resolving problems, and maintaining a high caseload and detailed case records. The successful candidate must be able to work on a team and have excellent communication and research skills. Four years’ professional work experience or bachelor’s degree, or a comparable mix of education and experience desired.

Experience in advocacy, health care, health insurance, or human services is desirable but not required. Prior legal experience is not required.

Base salary is $37,902 with salary credit given for relevant prior work experience. Four weeks paid vacation, retirement, and excellent health benefits.

Application deadline is August 17, 2020. Your application should include a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and three references combined into one pdf, sent by e-mail to Betsy Whyte at bwhyte@vtlegalaid.org with “HCA Position” in the subject line. Please let us know how you heard about this position.

9t-VTLegalAid080520.indd 1

8/3/20 1:43 PM

• Seasonal job, April-November • Driver's license required • Looking for long term employment

Please send resume to: Aquarius@surfglobal.net

8/11/202v-AquariusLandscapeSprinklers081220.indd 9:58 AM 8/7/20 1 10:15 AM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

68

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

AUGUST 12-19, 2020

WHERE YOU AND YOUR WORK MATTER...

PART-TIME BOOKKEEPER

When you work for the State of Vermont, you and your work matter. A career with the State puts you on a rich and rewarding professional path. You’ll find jobs in dozens of fields – not to mention an outstanding total compensation package.

The Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District (CVSWMD) is seeking an experienced, part-time (20 hours a week) bookkeeper in our ofďŹ ce in Montpelier, Vermont. Ideal candidate has bookkeeping experience, works effectively with staff, vendors, and customers, and loves the world of ďŹ nancing.

P U B L I C H E A LT H S E R V I C E S D I S T R I C T D I R E C T O R - M O R R I S V I L L E We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced, motivated leader who wants to guide a dedicated and caring interdisciplinary team with diverse expertise in the White River Junction District Office. District Directors mobilize staff and partners to create healthy communities by assessing needs, capacity building, planning, implementing programs and evaluating outcomes to improve the health and well-being of Vermonters. For more information, contact Allison Reagan at Allison.Reagan@vermont.gov or 802.881.9221.

Reference job ID #807. Status: Full Time. Department: Health. Application Deadline: August 26, 2020.

Learn more at: careers.vermont.gov

Minimum qualiďŹ cations include an Associate’s Degree in Accounting and two years of relevant experience, plus at least one year using Quick Books accounting software and Microsoft OfďŹ ce.

The State of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity Employer

5h-VTDeptHumanResources081220.indd 1

8/7/20 2:56 PM

Compensation: Between $15 and $19 per hour, commensurate with experience, plus excellent pro-rated beneďŹ ts. For more information and to review the job description visit cvswmd.org/employment--rfps Apply to administration@cvswmd.org; please include Bookkeeper in the subject line. Applications must include a cover letter, resume, and three professional references. This position is open until ďŹ lled.

INSURANCE CLAIM REPRESENTATIVE, MULTI-LINE VERMONT LEAGUE OF CITIES AND TOWNS The Vermont League of Cities and Towns seeks a licensed claim professional to serve our membership of Vermont municipalities. We have an opening for a multiline property and casualty claims adjuster in our Montpelier, Vermont office. The successful candidate will handle auto, property, and a variety of general and professional liability claims. The position performs a wide range of duties in the processing and settling of assigned claims. The VLCT Property and Casualty Intermunicipal Fund (PACIF) is a self-insured insurance association providing coverage to Vermont cities, towns, and other municipal entities.

5v-CVSWMD081220.indd 1

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.

REQUIREMENTS • Current Vermont property and casualty adjuster’s license and Bachelor’s degree or equivalent plus three years of insurance experience (seven years for the senior designation). AIC designation preferred. • Excellent communication, problem-solving skills and ability to analyze information • Valid driver’s license The successful candidate will be offered either the Property and Casualty Claim Representative or Senior PCCR position. Position & salary are commensurate with experience. Salary range is $49,098 – 75,000. Detailed job description is available at:

www.vlct.org/classifieds VLCT offers an excellent salary and benefits package, convenient downtown Montpelier location, enjoyable work environment, ability to telecommute and great colleagues. To apply, please send confidential cover letter, rĂŠsumĂŠ and three professional references to jobsearch@vlct.org with “Claim Representativeâ€? as subject. Or, if necessary, mail to Human Resources, Vermont League of Cities and Towns, 89 Main Street, Suite 4, Montpelier, VT 05602.

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.

Application deadline is Friday, August 28, 2020. Resumes will be reviewed as they are received. Interviews will be conducted remotely. Position is open until filled.

Email resume/application to: vermontbookkeeper14@gmail.com

VLCT is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages all individuals to apply.

9t-VTLeagueofCities&Towns081220.indd 1

8/6/20 11:01 AM

8/7/20 2:32 PM 5v-BottomLineBookkeeping061720.indd 1

6/12/20 2:49 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

69 AUGUST 12-19, 2020

Administrative Coordinator Freeman French Freeman seeks an Administrative Coordinator to support our busy architecture firm in downtown Burlington.

Electro-Mechanical Assemblers Are you looking to become part of a company with a unique culture? Our employees consider BioTek, now a part of Agilent, not just a workplace but a community built on respect and trust. In addition, we offer our Manufacturing employees the ability to have a flexible work schedule that meets their family’s needs.

Candidates must be organized and proficient with a variety of office software including Word, Excel, Outlook, PDF editing, schedulers, as well as enjoy working in a team environment.

3-5 years of relevant administrative experience preferred.

Full-time, Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm.

As a market leader in detection and imaging instrumentation for life science and drug discovery research, we are recognized globally for our innovative product line and excellent customer service. Our global customers include academic, government, and biotech/pharmaceutical companies.

Responsibilities include performing assembly and inspection processes, collecting report data as required by Quality standards, maintaining shop supplies, floor stock and tools and knowledge and support for Lean Manufacturing principles. Ability to lift and move units up to 35/40 lbs in weight to 5-foot high levels is required. You may perform product tests and material transaction; learn and support new products and train new employees consistently striving for efficient and effective methodologies.

Everyone with the skills necessary to succeed at this position is encouraged to apply. Learn more about our work at fffinc.com.

Email cover letter, resume, and three references to hello@fffinc.com.

4t-FreemanFrenchFreeman081220.indd 1

Engaging minds that change the world

Qualifications include an Associate’s degree preferred in a relevant field; or equivalent combination of education and experience with demonstrated applicable technical and troubleshooting capability. Proven computer applications knowledge in Windows Excel and Word with ability to work effectively in a team environment is essential. Previous experience with Lean Manufacturing and continuous improvement is a plus.

Center for Health and Wellbeing Student Health Services Per Diem Positions Primary Care Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant The University of Vermont’s Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHWB) is looking for a Vermont licensed Nurse Practitioner (NP) or Physician Assistant (PA) to provide quality medical care to UVM students at our student health primary care and acute care clinics for the fall semester.

Per Diem hours available for weekdays and Saturdays up to 37.5 hour per week. Ideally, we are seeking applicants who can work at least 20 hours per week.

Our dedicated employees are our greatest asset contributing to our success. We offer a casual yet professional and respectful work environment, competitive salary and an excellent benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, 401K and a profit sharing plan. If you want to join a great team that appreciates collaboration, hard work and a whole lot of fun, we would love to hear from you!

Responsibilities include: Evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, education and counseling of patients seeking medical (including chronic health issues and acute care), consultation with physicians and other clinical staff as necessary).

Successful candidates will work as part of a strong, supportive, and fun clinical team providing health care for University of Vermont students.

To learn more, please visit our website at biotek.com. To apply, send resumes to hrresumes@biotek.com or mail them to:

Desired qualifications: • Two years of clinical experience in ambulatory setting, preferably primary care or urgent care.

• Knowledge of developmental issues of adolescents and young adults and experience working with college-age population.

• Computer skills sufficient to maintain proper medical electronic health records and complete clinically-related administrative tasks via our electronic medical records.

• Ability to communicate clearly in person, via phone, and in writing with students, families and other student health staff of a variety of disciplines.

• Commitment to providing quality, respectful and confidential health care to all patients, valuing differences in race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, national origin, and disabilities.

Human Resources BioTek Instruments, Inc. P.O. Box 998, Highland Park Winooski, VT 05404-0998 BioTek is an E.O.E. and does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.

10v-BioTek081220.indd 1

New, local, scam-free jobs posted every day!

8/11/20 2:58 PM

Minimum qualifications include: Master’s degree in health field and graduate of Nurse Practitioner (NP) program or certification from a State Board of Medicine approved NP Program or Physician Assistant (PA) program and 2 years’ experience in direct patient care.

We offer competitive hourly wages. Per Diem employment does not include UVM benefits. For more information about Student Health Services, visit www.uvm.edu/health. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. To apply, email cover letter and resume to Dan Gookin at Daniel.Gookin@uvm.edu. Please indicate in the subject line of the email “Per diem NP/PA application”.

jobs.sevendaysvt.com

3h-.indd 1

Seve Issue Due: Size: Cost

8/10/20 9:20 AM

The University of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

12/3/19 12:43 PM 6t-GraystonePRIMARYcare081220.indd 1

8/10/20 2:56 PM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

70

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

AUGUST 12-19, 2020

HIRING EARLY EDUCATORS

For a growing school community Infant, Toddler Ones, Twos, Float educator support and Licensed Preschool/Prek

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

As an Early Childhood Educator working with young children, you would have the amazing opportunity to teach, empower and care for each children's unique set of needs by identifying their temperaments and creating a loving environment that honors each child and their development. Working collaboratively with other colleagues, together you will provide enriching and nurturing learning experiences for these young children as you build strong and positive relationships with them and their families. Using Emergent Curriculum strategies and inspirations of Reggio Emilia practices, your observations of children's play will guide you as you create and implement an ever-evolving curriculum that is guided by the interests and discoveries of children to expand their learning.

Orientation training, leadership and support will be provided.

See our Website for more info on benefits, job descriptions, and requirements or contact Crystal@kidlogiclearning.com.

4t-KidLogicLearning081220.indd 1

8/11/20 2:37 PM

LICENSED NURSE ASSISTANT Full-time, part-time & per-diem positions may be available*

The Nursing Assistant is responsible for specific aspects of direct and indirect patient care under the direct supervision of a Registered Nurse.

High School diploma or equivalent.

LNA, licensed in Vermont.

LEARN MORE & APPLY: uvmmed.hn/sevendays

Agricultural Conservation Program Director

4t-UVMMedCenterLNA042920.indd 1 Untitled-1 1

4/24/20 AM 8/3/20 11:16 9:35 AM

The Agricultural Program Director leads VHCB’s purchase of development rights program to conserve Vermont’s farmland, improve environmental stewardship, and invest in the economic viability of Vermont’s working landscape.

Responsible for agricultural land protection work, implementing program priorities, and managing state and federal farmland conservation funding.

QUALIFICATIONS: Prior experience in agriculture and/or land conservation and natural resources required. Proficiency in financial and data analysis; leadership skills, teamwork, and collaboration with outside partners important. Strong communication skills, experience and proficiency in program and grants tracking, document management systems, and compliance and reporting for federal grants is strongly preferred. Experience working with non-profit organizations, municipalities, and state and federal agencies important. A valid driver’s license is necessary; some travel is required. Full-time position with comprehensive benefits. EOE. Please reply by August 28 with letter of interest and résumé to: Laurie Graves, VHCB, 58 E. State Street, Montpelier, Vt. 05602 or jobs@vhcb. org. See the full job description at: vhcb.org/about-us/jobs

POST YOUR JOBS AT: PRINT DEADLINE: FOR RATES & INFO:

3h-ContactInfo.indd 1

6/29/15 5:11 PM

MILTON TOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT DIGITAL OUTREACH AND COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST- 1 YEAR Posting: 8/4/20 Deadline: Until Filled Milton Town School District is looking for a dynamic, responsive, client-oriented person to serve as a distance learning and communication liaison between the school district, school community, and community at large.

• To work collaboratively with the administration and schools in creating and maintaining positive communications efforts with staff, community to maintain positive public relations.

• Develop and maintain a web communications package to include websites, mobile application, system for Milton Town School District that is web friendly, user friendly, and ADA compliant, social media enabled, that can be used as an effective and efficient communication tool with parents, students, employees, and community members.

• Ensure equitable access to technology & communication for all learners and educators based on their individual technology needs, including, but not limited to troubleshooting technology issues including access to broadband internet.

Position Requirements • Bachelor’s degree in website maintenance and social media communications or related fields preferred; or a combination of training and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills are acquired.

• Good general understanding of public education organizational and governance structures desirable.

• Citizenship, residency, or work visa Position Responsibilities • Create mechanisms for incorporating student, community, and staff voice in the ongoing design of the web platform.

• Review & revise layout/design of “home pages” for each department in an ongoing way working with stakeholders & community. Monitor website traffic.

• Manage all web content and projects related to the website. Implement new Web pages and update existing web pages as necessary.

Essay Question: Please write 500 words about an educational topic that is important for the general public to understand.

Milton Town School District is committed to maintaining a work and learning environment free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, pregnancy, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital/civil union status, ancestry, place of birth, age, citizenship status, veteran status, political affiliation, genetic information or disability, as defined and required by state and federal laws. Additionally, we prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose such discrimination and harassment or who participate in an equal opportunity investigation. Equal Opportunity Employer.

Milton Town School District Terry Mazza, Human Resources Director 12 Bradley St., Milton, VT 05468 802-893-5304 FAX: 802-893-3020 10v-MiltonSchoolDistrict081220.indd 1

4t-VHCB081220.indd 1

8/10/20 4:23 PM

SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POSTMYJOB NOON ON MONDAYS (INCLUDING HOLIDAYS) MICHELLE BROWN, 802-865-1020 X21, MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

MILTON TOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT 8/7/20 3:13 PM

PHOTO: OLIVER PARINI

At a time like this, it is certainly very important for Wake Robin to be fully staffed. We’re really proud of how everything has gone through the pandemic — our staff and residents all responded really well and really quickly. So far, we’re COVID-free. We realize this can change at any time and are working very hard to stay that way. We feel privileged to be in the company of other essential workers.

Across the hospitality industry, many folks have lost their jobs.

But we are open, and it’s business as usual for us. Residents still need support, and people still need to work. So we have been hiring for housekeepers and for waitstaff recently.

We’ve always recruited with Seven Days, and we get quality candidates. We’ve felt like the mission and the values of our Wake Robin community really align with its readers. When we get candidates from Seven Days, they’re a great match for us.

People heard that we had such a good response to COVID-19 and sought us out for a place of employment. We’re really happy with our response and the quality of our applicants. Advertising with Seven Days, the system works. It’s simple and easy. We definitely wouldn’t change anything up at such an important time to be recruiting.

MORGAN EVARTS Recruiter/Workforce Builder Wake Robin, Shelburne

…it works.

CALL MICHELLE: 865-1020, EXT.21 OR VISIT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM 1T-JobsTesti-WakeRobin060320.indd 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

71

6/1/20 1:34 PM

fun stuff

RACHEL LINDSAY

72

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

CALCOKU & SUDOKU (P.57) CROSSWORD (P.57)

HARRY BLISS & STEVE MARTIN

Be a Tourist in Your Own State!

”What part of giddyup don’t you understand?”

JEN SORENSEN

Need inspiration for your staycation?

Start exploring at staytrippervt.com

2V-Staytripper080520.indd 1

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

PHOTO : NATHANAEL ASARO

Let Seven Days be your travel guide. Every month we’ll be rounding up mini excursions, dining destinations, lodging, tours and more into a curated itinerary for you to grab and go.

Why? Because you’re on vacation — let us do the work.

73

8/3/20 1:48 PM

fun stuff RYAN RIDDLE

is

Making it is not :( Keep this newspaper free for all.

Join the Seven Days Super Readers at sevendaysvt.com/super-readers or call us at 802-864-5684.

74SR-Comics-filler071520.indd SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020 1

7/14/20 3:32 PM

Have a deep, dark fear of your own? Submit it to cartoonist Fran Krause at deep-dark-fears.tumblr.com, and you may see your neurosis illustrated in these pages.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY REAL AUGUST 13-19

down-to-earth attitude about making beautiful things, which he has done in abundance. He says that his goal is not to generate wonderful creations nonstop — that’s not possible — but rather to always be primed to do his best when inspiration strikes. In other words, it’s crucial to tirelessly hone his craft, to make sure his skills are constantly at peak capacity. I hope you’ve been approaching your own labors of love with that in mind, Taurus. If you have, you’re due for creative breakthroughs in the coming weeks.

The diligent efforts you’ve invested in cultivating your talents are about to pay off. If, on the other hand, you’ve been a bit lazy about detailoriented discipline, correct that problem now.

There’s still time to get yourself in top shape.

LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22):

In the dictionary, the first definition of “magic” is “the art of producing illusions as entertainment by the use of sleight of hand and deceptive devices.” A far more interesting definition, which is my slight adjustment of an idea by occultist Aleister Crowley, doesn’t appear in most dictionaries.

Here it is: “Magic is the science and art of causing practical changes to occur in accordance with your will — under the rigorous guidance of love.” According to my analysis of the astrological omens, the latter definition could and should be your specialty during the next four weeks.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In his 2010 album

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Gemini musician Kanye West confesses the decadent and hedonist visions that fascinate and obsess him. Personally, I’m not entertained by the particular excesses he claims to indulge in; they’re generic and unoriginal and boring. But I bet that the beautiful dark twisted fantasies simmering in your imagination, Gemini, are more unique and intriguing. In accordance with astrological omens, I invite you to spend quality time in the coming weeks diving in and exploring those visions in glorious detail. Get to know them better. Embellish them. Meditate on the feelings they invoke and the possibility that they have deeper spiritual meanings.

(P.S. But don’t act them out, at least not now.)

(March 21-April 19): Motivational speaker Les Brown says his mission in life is to help people become uncomfortable with their mediocrity. That same mission is suitable for many of you Rams, as well. And I suspect you’ll be able to generate interesting fun and good mischief if you perform it in the coming weeks.

Here’s a tip on how to make sure you do it well: Don’t use shame or derision as you motivate people to be uncomfortable with their mediocrity. A better approach is to be a shining example that inspires them to be as bright as you are.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): “Make all your decisions based on how hilarious it would be if you did it,” advises Cancerian actor Aubrey Plaza. I wish it were that simple. How much more fun we might all have if the quest for amusement and laughter were among our main motivating principles. But no, I don’t recommend that you always determine your course of action by what moves will generate the most entertainment and mirth. Having said that, though, I do suspect the next few weeks may in fact be a good time to experiment with using Plaza’s formula.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus musician and visual artist Brian Eno has a practical,

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “The soul, like the moon, is new, and always new again,” wrote

ARIES

14th-century mystic poet Lalleswari. I will amend her poetic formulation, however. The fact is that the soul, unlike the moon, is always new in different ways; it doesn’t have a predictable pattern of changing as the moon does. That’s what makes the soul so mysterious and uncanny. No matter how devotedly we revere the soul, no matter how tenderly we study the soul, it’s always beyond our grasp.

It’s forever leading us into unknown realms that teem with new challenges and delights.

I invite you to honor and celebrate these truths in the coming weeks, Virgo. It’s time to exult in the shiny dark riddles of your soul.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “I have one talent, and that is the capacity to be tremendously surprised,” writes Libran author Diane Ackerman. I advise you to foster that talent, too, in the weeks ahead. If you’re feeling brave, go even further. Make yourself as curious as possible. Deepen your aptitude for amazements and epiphanies. Cultivate an appreciation for revelations and blessings that arrive from outside your expectations. To the degree that you do these things, the wonderments that come your way will tend to be enlivening and catalytic; unpredictability will be fun and educational.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Author and theologian Frederick Buechner writes, “If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, we must see not just their faces but also the life behind and within their faces.” The coming weeks will be prime time for you to heed Buechner’s advice, Scorpio. You’re in a phase when you’ll have extra power to understand and empathize with others. Taking full advantage of that potential will serve your selfish aims in profound ways, some of which you can’t imagine yet.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Refine your rapture,” advised occultist Aleister Crowley. Now is an excellent time to take that advice. How might you go about doing it? Well, you could have a long conversation with your deep psyche — and see if you can plumb hidden secrets about what gives it sublime pleasure. You could seek out new ways to ex-

perience euphoria and enchantment — with an emphasis on ways that also make you smarter and healthier. You might also take inventory of your current repertoire of blissinducing strategies — and cultivate an enhanced capacity to get the most out of them.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Are you ready to make the transition from slow, deep, subtle and dark to fast, high, splashy and bright?

Are you interested in shifting your focus from behind-the-scenes to right up front and totally out in the open? Would it be fun and meaningful for you to leave behind the stealthy, smoldering mysteries and turn your attention to the sweet, blazing truths? All these changes can be yours — and more. To get the action started, jump up toward the sky three times, clicking your heels together during each mid-leap.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Greenland is

a mostly autonomous territory within the nation of Denmark. In 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his government was interested in buying the massive island, describing it as “a large real estate deal” that would add considerable strategic value to his country. A satirical story in the New Yorker subsequently claimed that Denmark responded with a counteroffer, saying it wasn’t interested in the deal but “would be interested in purchasing the United States in its entirety, with the exception of its government.” I offer this as an example to inspire you. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to flip the script, turn the tables, reverse the roles, transpose the narrative and switch the rules of the game.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Author Doris Lessing told us, “It is our stories that will recreate us.” Whenever we’re hurt or confused or demoralized, she suggested, we need to call on the imagination to conjure up a new tale for ourselves. “It is the storyteller, the dreammaker, the myth-maker, that is our phoenix,” she believed. The fresh narratives we choose to reinvent ourselves may emerge from our own dreams, meditations or fantasies. Or they might flow our way from a beloved movie or song or book. I suspect you’re ready for this quest, Pisces. Create a new saga for yourself.

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

Watch at sevendaysvt.com 4H-Stuck080520.indd 1

supported by: ic forced The pandem w to shut a Bruce Gony t mer camp a down a sum rm fa e e hors his 200-acr ton, but it’s g in n in Brow a demand also driving mpanions. for equine co r hours el fo Buyers trav horses to purchase w , ho also from Bruce ail rides organizes tr weekends. y and cowbo SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

75

8/11/20 10:08 AM

Respond to these people online: dating.sevendaysvt.com WOMEN seeking...

I’M JUST COUNTRY I’m a lonely country girl looking for companionship. I don’t believe all that’s left are liars and cheaters out there.

Countrygal1, 46, seeking: M, l CREATIVE, EMPATHIC, KIND I am a curious, sensitive and intuitive woman who is creative and smart.

I love excellent conversation, the outdoors, travel and good food! I’m a spiritual seeker and writer; mostly night owl. Looking for deep connection, independence and laughter in someone who values doing their inner work.

SoulTraveler, 50, seeking: M, l COUPLE SEEKING GUY OR GIRL We are very open and honest. Clean, safe and totally discreet. We are looking for a man with a big dick or a woman who wants to try new adult things with a couple.

We want to role-play and try some kink.

Raindancer70, 50, seeking: M, W, TM, Cp JOURNEY QUEST I am seeking an honest, kind, wellbalanced, reliable friend, man or woman, with good communication skills and a sense of humor who likes spontaneous adventures to a planned destination. If you are bored with your situation and would like to do something different and are not tied to responsibilities, then let’s talk, as there are many possibilities to consider.

JourneyQuest, 58, seeking: M, l

WANT TO RESPOND?

You read Seven Days, these people read Seven Days — you already have at least one thing in common!

All the action is online.

Create an account or login to browse more than 2,000 singles with profiles including photos, habits, desires, views and more. It’s free to place your own profile online

l

See photos of this person online.

W = Women M = Men TW = Trans women TM = Trans men Q = Genderqueer people NBP = Nonbinary people NC = Gender nonconformists Cp = Couples Gp = Groups

76

GOOD MORNING! Female, vegan, 420-friendly, central Vermont. Seeking similar companion for summer (and beyond) activities: easy/moderate hiking, nature walks, swimming, biking, long drives on back roads and other warm weather adventures. In the midst of the pandemic, I take “social smartness” seriously. For the time being, I am only open to outdoor, safely distanced meetings. Thanks for reading! VtVegan2020, 57, 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 reade , thinker — someone who likes movies, theater, museums, travel, music, conversation, and the Oxford comma. Three ears into widowhood, I realize I could really use someone to share experiences with. The range of those experiences would have to be explored. ZanninVT, 67, 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 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. W, 73, 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 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 enj y life and Vermont. If it turns into something more, bonus! Bella2020, 62, seeking: M, l

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

PREFER BEING OUTDOORS AND ACTIVE Genuine, honest and an active listener. I like to cook and eat real food that is locally produced/raised.

Gardening (veggies, not so much flowers), hiking, biking, running, snowshoeing, eradicating invasive plants — most anything outdoors will do. VTu4ia, 44, seeking: M, l OPEN TO ALL LIFE OFFERS A dear friend once accused me of having “irrational self-confidence.”

That seemed about right. I ha e had an exciting, productive, untraditional life. I’m a writer of nonfiction, and that life has provided plenty of fuel for my work. I am in excellent health. Looking for a life partner to explore new paths with humor and curiosity. I will try anything once. CLC, 74, seeking: M, l PRRRRRR...

Lookin’ for fun, honest, real person for friendship, FWB, dating, LTR option. KittyKat, 54, seeking: M HOPEFUL ROMANTIC SEEKS COMPASSIONATE MAN Recently retired, looking for man to share life with. Last child has left the nest, so looking for best friend, lover and partner in crime. Honestly, adjusting to retirement opens a new world and endless possibilities that I’d like to share with that special someone. I like traveling, camping, campfires, swimming and good co fee.

Vtfishgirl , 62, seeking: M, l COUNTRY AT HEART AND FREE I’m looking for a good guy who likes to eat, hang out, go fishing and camping, and enjoys my company. I love to please my man and make him happy. Looking for the same. I grew up in the Burlington area and am of French and German descent. Oldergal, 66, seeking: M

MEN seeking...

TIME FLIES Newly retired, not so newly single. Used to be OK with the patient method of meeting people spontaneously, but during these unusual times that has become almost impossible. I would really like to meet someone who enjoys traveling or just hanging out. A good conversationalist is a must. Someone informed and open-minded. Spontaneous nature and adventurous are wonderful qualities. Strangetimes, 57, seeking: W P/E RATIO I enjoy spontaneous travel, reading biographies, learning new things, new places, daily exercise, bike riding, the gym, movies and your company. I am seeking a funny, educated woman with a successful career and/or financial security who shares some of the above characteristics. OAAG, 63, seeking: W, l GOOD-LOOKING BI Just looking for a friend-with-benefits situation. Must be discreet. OK-looking and fun-loving. Mright, 44, seeking: M, Cp

WHY NOT? Last year I made a life change that some have called brave. Now I’m looking for that one special person to share real intimacy with. I’m passionate about being fit in my later ears so that I can enjoy them. I’m also fascinated by people.

“Why not?” is my headline, because I would just like to meet as many people as possible. POvt, 51, seeking: W, l

FUN-LOVING, GOOD-LOOKING, ADVENTUROUS, GENUINE, COMPASSIONATE I recently moved to Vermont from Florida and am looking for someone who enjoys great, funny company and nice walks and talk. I’m really outgoing and very easy to talk to. I love cats and all animals.

I have a 23-y/o daughter who lives in Germany. Livinlife47, 47, seeking: W, l

SEEKING SWEET MOTHER WITH MILK Hello, I’m seeking a sweet connection with a lactating mother. This ha been something I’ve craved for a long time. Safe, sane, attractive professional man. We can take things very slowly. Would love to hear from you. sweetconnect, 45, seeking: W

LIFE LESS ORDINARY, AND FUN! Honest, educated, funny, adventurous, optimistic, active, artistic and employed. I’m hoping for an LTR but OK with dating too. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Well, I’m also kinky, very open-minded, heteroflexibl and consider myself sexually “well rounded.” Seeking an active, fun, adventurous, laid-back, like-minded woman who knows which hole is for the round peg. Are you out there? ;) NewAdventures11, 51, seeking: W, l

PANDEMIC REAPPRAISAL Inquisitive bi guy, 68, in a reflecti e period actively exploring cinema before 1970, music before 1964, Zen and American noir also. FWB possibilities beyond limiting dualities. And you?

NotTooOldToExplore, 68, seeking: M, l STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED A crisis tends to make one do what they should’ve been doing all along.

So, here I am. Looking for someone(s) to get to know. Sense of humor a must, creativity a plus. Please be able to talk about current events — not necessarily pop culture. Don’t be upset if I don’t reply. VTBOB, 64, seeking: M RURAL CARHARTT KINDA GUY Fit guy who loves dogs, snowboarding, hiking, nature, good food and wine, travel, and regular dudes. The only thing ga about me is that I like men. Ideal guy?

Strongly prefer stocky, bearded and inked Chevy pickup kinda guy who has his act together. Just looking for a regular, rural Vermont dude. NEK area preferred.

WashCtyHomesteader, 57, seeking: M LOOKING FOR BURLINGTON DREADED BRANDY In late February we sat next to each other and chatted on an early morning flight to DC. ou: headed to KC for the week to work. Dreads, beautiful, smart, computer person. Me: Headed to DC for the day to do political consulting.

Would love to continue that talk over coffee or a drink or a walk by the lake. adnaZ, 58, seeking: W FUN AND RELAXED I have had submissive woman, and they were fun. But their end game was to give and not receive. One didn’t like my wallet, and others liked my pocket.

They were a l about the head and not the heart. timage, 50, seeking: W NSA FUN Looking for a couple to have some NSA, discreet fun. I am clean, sane, fun, good-looking, shaved, professional, bi-curious and willing. Must be discreet.

Let’s chat and have a drink, see what happens. Willinou812, 51, seeking: Cp LET’S HAVE FUN Easygoing and lots of fun.

802chef, 41, seeking: W QUIET, ANTISOCIAL, LONELY, LONER, HEADCASE Life’s a mess. Comfortable with silence.

Have been described as creepy. I love comics and cartoons of all sorts. PC gamer/computer addict. Jaded cynic.

Animal lover. Pro-gun liberal. Can’t stand authoritarians. Not financia ly stable. If you want to date me, there’s probably something wrong with you. I’m just here to try to get my hugs/year average above one. QuietIntrovert, 31, seeking: W, TW

COUPLES seeking...

TO MAKING IT COUNT! We’re a couple exploring and adding something exciting to our lives. She is 31 y/o, 5’6, curvy and beautiful. He is 32 y/o, 6’, average athletic and handsome.

We’re looking for friends and friends with benefits. e love movies, board games, hanging out, outdoor activities, stimulating conversation, sex, family and a bunch more. We’re clean, disease-free and tobacco-free. LetLoose, 31, seeking: W, Cp LOOKING FOR SOMEONE AMAZING We are a couple in an open relationship seeking a bi male, gay male or couple to join us in kinky play. Cuckholds, DP, etc. Are you a playmate (or playmates) who are open to safe, sane and crazy experiences.

Lets fulfi l each others fantasies. We’ll try anything twice! We are two clean, professional adults. Discretion given and expected. vtfuncouple, 44, seeking: M, Cp ATTRACTIVE MARRIED COUPLE Attractive, caring and honest married couple looking to meet a female for fun times both in and out of the bedroom.

She is bi-curious; he is straight. We are very easygoing and fun to be around. Will share a photo once we communicate. Let’s see what happens.

VTcouple4fun, 49, seeking: W SEASONED, REASONED, FRIENDSHIP AND CONVERSATION Older couple seeks new friends to enjoy honest conversation. Couples, women, or men. We are not seeking benefit though we are open to discussion if all are inspired. We’d love to meet and converse over a nice meal. We love warmth and open people. Our place has a hot tub for cold winters, and we have a massage table. Seasoned, 69, seeking: M, W, Cp, Gp, l

TRANS WOMEN seeking...

BE MY CUDDLE BUDDY? Cute 50-y/o vegan straight-edge polyam ace enby trans girl. Love my parallel polyam primary nesting partner, so I’m looking for a part-time snuggle buddy for walks and talks and handholding and kissing and romance! I fall in love really easily! I’m half in love with you already just because you’re reading this!

Anyone but cis guys. EnbyTransgirl, 51, seeking: W, TM, TW, Q, NBP, 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

i SPY

If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

dating.sevendaysvt.com

...WAFFLES...

My World At Large feels too big without you in it. A warrior’s broken Valkyrie heart ... Your Queen is trying — the resistance makes me no better than a pawn. I’d Follow You Into The Dark, if you’d love yourself enough. It’s All So Incredibly Loud, Green Eyes.

Remember that the Revolution is in your Mind. This is my last iSpy. When: Monday, August 3, 2020. Where: at The End Of The F***ing World.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915124 MEMORIES OF QUÉBEC I was in love with you. Québec, then Massachusetts for Christmas with your family. Out of nowhere, you ended it. Yes, it was moving fast.

When you go through life not knowing that feeling and find what’s missing, you don’t want to waste time! I think of you often. I wish I knew why, and think about what could have been.

When: Wednesday, December 25, 2019. Where: everywhere. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915123 A WALK AROUND THE COURSE I joined your group for 9. I thoroughly enjoyed the time. Bit of an age difference, and I didn’t want to seem creepy. You’re very attractive. I loved your voice, and I find myself lost in thought thinking about you. Thought you may have felt an attraction, too.

Would love to play again, maybe have a drink after. When: Friday, August 7, 2020. Where: golf course.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915122 RT.7 DELI REDHEAD It was around 4. You were wearing an Army green tank top. You headed south on 7 toward Shelburne.

When: Wednesday, July 29, 2020.

Where: Rt.7 Deli, Shelburne Rd. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915119

‘THE BACHELOR’ & CROSSWORDS For months I looked forward to seeing you most Monday nights for dinner.

Hearing about how fascinating “˜ e Bachelor” is and trying to sound smart helping you with crossword puzzles. ˜ en the world turned upside down, and I don’t know where to find you. I’d love to get back in touch. Let me know where I might run into you! When: Monday, March 9, 2020. Where: Rí Rá’s. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915121 TRACTOR SUPPLY IN MONTPELIER We were both looking for mower belts.

Tried to help you figure out which one.

You knew it was a Craftsman but didn’t know the model number. And the book didn’t even list part numbers for Craftsman! I tried to help, had to let you head off to customer service. Should have asked for your number. Kicking myself now. When: Wednesday, August 5, 2020. Where: Montpelier Tractor Supply. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915120 CANADA EX Chatted briefly as you were walking your Portuguese/spaniel mix pup. I was eating lunch with my neighbor, a bit sweaty from working. Would love to join you for a dog walk and chat more.

Haven’t seen you walk by again. When: Sunday, July 12, 2020. Where: near North St. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915115 THOUGHTS OF AN OLDER MAN You are a stream-of-conscious poet.

You nimbly weave together ideas, insights and humor, from Marble to Mozart. Kindness and love flow out of you like a stream. I want to be with you in your hedonistic adventures and join the energy of your being. You wowed me when we met. FaceTime is not enough. When: Friday, July 17, 2020. Where: in my apartment.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915114

Ask REVEREND °˛˝

Irreverent counsel on life’s conundrums

Dear Reverend,

I accidentally saw that my girlfriend had been texting with her ex. I don’t know what they were talking about, but it’s been bothering me ever since.

She doesn’t have a password on her phone, and I’m tempted to sneak a peek to see what’s up. I know I shouldn’t, but I don’t think I can help myself. Is that terrible?

Snoopy

(GENDERFLUID, 25)

MALLETTS BAY You were docking; we chatted a little.

Love to continue the conversation. You: blond hair, some sexy tattoos on the arm, green swimsuit. When: Monday, August 3, 2020. Where: Malletts Bay. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915117

ITALIAN RACE BIKE, BURLINGTON-COLCHESTER BRIDGE Wow, talking to you made my day!

Wouldn’t mind meeting you again.

When: Monday, July 27, 2020.

Where: Burlington bike path. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915109

CHAI-COLORED QUEEN You were the color of warm chai. I could smell the cardamom on you. Elegant, spicy. What were you pondering in the chips aisle? When: Saturday, July 25, 2020. Where: City Market.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915105

RUNNER ON MOUNT PISGAH In the early morning, we met at the overlook. You were training, and I was on my first mountain hike in years. Will our paths cross again? When: Saturday, August 1, 2020. Where: Mount Pisgah.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915116

RAIL TRAIL ˜ ank you to the good-looking guy from CACR who flashed me a handsome smile while saying hello and also for petting my dog. It made my day! When: Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Where: LVRT, Jeffersonville.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915108

NORTH BURLINGTON DREADED BRANDY In late February we sat next to each other and chatted on an early flight to DC. You were headed to KC for the week for work. Dreads, beautiful, smart, computer person.

I would love to continue that talk over coffee or a drink or a walk by the lake. When: Saturday, February 22, 2020. Where: Burlington flight to DC. You: Man. Me: Man. #915102

TAN BLONDE AT AMERICAN FLATBREAD You were a tan, cute and happy blonde having dinner with your girlfriends. You made a risqué joke and gave me a playful smile before dancing down the sidewalk. Made my night. When: ˜ ursday, July 30, 2020. Where: American Flatbread.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915113 TELL ME SOMETHING Anne, I know you didn’t pick me all those months ago. I know why you didn’t, but all I want is another shot. You make me feel like no one has before. ˜ is is me asking you to pick me, pick us, because you’re the closest thing to magic I’ve ever found. When: Sunday, July 28, 2019. Where: Switchback brewery.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915112

LAKE CARMI I saw a blond woman in a rowing boat in rough waters in a black-and-white bathing suit keeping in great physical shape. I was fishing. Too bad we couldn’t have been closer. Certainly would like to get to know her. I wonder if she has a camp on the lake. I have been renting at Sunnybank Lodge this month. When: Sunday, July 26, 2020. Where: Lake Carmi. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915107 A BRIDGE TOO FAR? Bike path bridge between Burlington and Colchester. You: on bike. Me: walking with a M/F couple. You appeared interested. I was. ˜ ere were geese. When: Saturday, July 25, 2020. Where: Burlington-Colchester bridge. You: Man. Me: Man. #915106

SPLASH You were having lunch with a young companion. You were wearing a black top and jeans shorts and have a moon tattoo on the back of your left arm. I don’t know anything else about you, other than that you have a strikingly beautiful smile. I may have been staring, and you may have noticed. If so, let me know! When: Wednesday, July 29, 2020. Where: Splash.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915111

TOGETHER AGAIN You looked as beautiful as ever after missing you for six weeks. You were so patient. I’m truly blessed to have reconnected with such a kind, caring, loving, gorgeous, intelligent, strong woman. You made my day, and my heart felt completely full as soon as I saw you on the bridge. I promise to give you the love you deserve. When: Monday, July 20, 2020. Where: Winooski.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915104

WHEN WE WERE FOXES...

Love, I wonder why are we in this quagmire? I wish I had remained wild like you; free. Every day I wait for you to come home to me, me alone; to stay.

Please find me again in our next lives. I’ll still be your vixen in moonlight awaiting your kisses sweet. Pull my hair and bite my neck so I know. When: Tuesday, July 28, 2020. Where: Plattsburgh.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915110

WALK BY ME DAILY ALMOST You: female, and name starts with a C. You always say hi with a smile. You live up the street from me, and we know each other through my work (North Ave. area). I feel like you have that cartoon bubble over your head that is saying more, lol. I’m down if you are. Just ask, and I will play. When: Wednesday, July 22, 2020. Where: North Ave. area.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915103

Dear Snoopy,

I have a rule about this kind of thing. If you’re looking where you shouldn’t be looking and you see something you aren’t supposed to see, it’s your own damn fault and you should keep it to yourself. Lord knows that’s easier said than done, and I’ve certainly not heeded my own advice on more than a

few occasions — usually resulting in not the best outcome.

You should absolutely never snoop around on anyone’s phone.

Or computer. Or anything. Especially your partner’s.

Unless they’re dead — and even then you might want to think twice.

How would you feel if someone did that to you?

Pretty stinky, right?

HANDSOME VERMONTERS IN SEATTLE Saw you two Green Mountain hunks cruising on I-90 a couple of weeks ago. We sped up when we caught sight of your Vermont plates, hoping to see some good-looking hometown boys in the car, and we were NOT disappointed! Two Vermont ladies here, and we would love to double date in Seattle. When: Saturday, June 27, 2020. Where: I-90 in Seattle.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915101 DANIELLE Before COVID I came in to drink coffee and read. It was always special when our eyes met. Once, as you rode up on the escalator, you turned, and I, on the first floor, smiled and said hi to you.

What fuels that extraordinary smile of yours that lights up the world around you? Let’s meet. When: Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Where: Barnes & Noble. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915100 ATTRACTIVE BLONDE, MIDDLE ROAD MARKET You were wearing an orange-andpink top with black shorts. I had a black T-shirt and tan shorts. We smiled at each other as I walked in.

As you were buying your Nantucket Nectars, I was being too shy to say hi.

Which I now regret! Hoping you see this, and hoping to hear back from you. When: Saturday, July 18, 2020.

Where: Milton, Middle Road Market.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915098

I’m a big fan of honesty. If the ex text is truly gnawing on your nerves, talk to your girlfriend about it. You don’t want her to think you’re a creepy sneak, so make it very clear that noticing the text was an accident. Also, don’t go into the discussion assuming anything fishy is going on. Lots of people stay friendly with their old flames.

I’d say the chances are good that they were discussing what they’ve been binge-watching and not scheming to break your heart.

Good luck and God bless,

The Reverend What’s your problem?

Send it to asktherev@sevendaysvt.com.

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

77

I’m a male, 58, seeking a woman, 58. SSS Skipper. I enjoy a woman who is not afraid to take control.

Enjoy role-play, dressing up, quiet times at home. #L1427

I’m a 59-y/o GWM seeking out new guys for friendship and camaraderie! Outgoing, fun-loving and gregarious.

Varied interests. Open to new social ventures. Value intimate conversations and close friendships. Let’s get together! #L1430 Petite, attractive WF, 39, seeks bright, fit WM, 30 to 50, for friendship and lasting love.

Politically liberal, personally conservative, homebody and globe-trotter. Loves cats, books, laughter and vegetarian food.

Observing social distancing, so any friendship will evolve slowly. #L1429

I’m a 61-y/o female seeking a male 58 to 62. I have had vivid dreams of someone named Mark. 58 to 62 y/o, tall, gray hair, kindhearted, active, honest. NEK. #L1431 Me: man — successful, innovative, liberative — just finalizing several years of R&D; preparing to introduce my findings internationally; ISO long-term companion/ helpmate/lover. You: woman — friendly, intelligent, empathetic, adventurous; enjoy challenges, travel, sex.

Driver’s license, passport required. All replies answered — USPS only. #L1428

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!

78

1

Submit your FREE message at sevendaysvt.com/loveletters or use the handy form at right.

2

We’ll publish as many messages as we can in the Love Letters section above.

3

Interested readers will send you letters in the mail. No internet required!

SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

SWF, mid-60s, seeking SM. I am tall with striking auburn hair. In good health. Average build. Lying in a hammock watching the love of nature and the nature of love. Wanting to expand on the intimacy of another willing to partake in gradual knowing of each other. Someone of intelligence, interested in arts, science, hand-powered tools, nature, or surprise me. Living the life off the grid, in more ways than one. My skills and time spent are in furniture and chair repair, weaving, maintenance of household. Bicycling, kayaking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, gardens. All reasonable responses will be answered. #L1426 I’m a bi-curious male seeking a guy for summer fun, maybe more. Seeking age group 18 to 35. Need a guy to teach me the ropes. Really eager to try a lollipop, if you know what I mean. Write, please. #L1425 I’m a bi male seeking a bi or gay male. Enjoy reading, Scrabble, long walks and conversation, horse shoes, bench, 420 friendly, microbrews, scrabble, University of Vermont, psychology. Please write. #L1423

Internet-Free Dating!

Reply to these messages with real, honest-to-goodness letters. DETAILS BELOW. 37 M seeks F. I’m a do-ityourselfer, sushi taco eater, nutrition enthusiast, Tuesday night bowler-ist, amateur thespian, butting libertarian, Bob Ross watcher, Emannuel Levinas talker, not much of a clubber, beer-drinking, poolplaying bocce ball thrower.

Seeking same. #L1424 38-y/o Plattsburgh, N.Y., man here. I am looking for a man my age. Reserved, happy man here, just looking for someone to bring some excitement to my life and complete me. #L1422 I’m an older male seeking a sporty 50-plus woman. I’m affectionate and enjoy long walks and conversation, trivia, Scrabble, horseshoes, reading, the beach. 420-friendly, microbrews. Please write. Love to meet you. #L1421 I’m a mid-50s man seeking a 45- to 60-y/o female.

Searching for fit, grounded, at-home country girl. I own a home, land and toys. Desire to travel. Love to garden. #L1420

53-y/o discreet SWM, 5’10, 156 pounds. Brown and blue. Seeking any guys 18 to 60 who like to receive oral and who are a good top. Well hung guys a plus.

Chittenden County and around.

No computer. Phone only, but can text or call. #L1419 I’m a 60-y/o bi male seeking guys to have fun with. I like everything.

Mostly a bottom, but not always.

Respond with a phone number.

No text or email. I’ll call you. #L1418 I’m a single WM seeking 65- to 70y/o woman to share mutual oral with. Retired physician. In my home or yours. #L1417 59-y/o female seeks someone who follows the Golden Rule in my age range to adventure, read and/or watch TV with. Must be intelligent and an excellent communicator with a great sense of humor. Not into hookups. I enjoy writing, animals and great food, and I’m a bit of a news junkie. No tolerance for injustice or prejudice. Please write to share your outstanding qualities. #L1416

Describe yourself and who you’re looking for in 40 words below:

Required confidential info:

(OR, ATTACH A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER.)

__________________________________________

I’m a _________________________________________________ __ ____

NAME

AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL)

seeking a____________________________________________ ___________ AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL)

_______________________________________________________

__________________________________________ ADDRESS

__________________________________________ ADDRESS (MORE)

_______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________

__________________________________________ CITY/STATE

__________________________________________ ZIP

__________________________________________ PHONE

_______________________________________________________ MAIL TO: SEVEN DAYS LOVE LETTERS • PO BOX 1164, BURLINGTON, VT 05402 OPTIONAL WEB FORM: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LOVELETTERS HELP: 802-865-1020, EXT. 10, LOVELETTERS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

THIS FORM IS FOR LOVE LETTERS ONLY. Messages for the Personals and I-Spy sections must be submitted online at dating.sevendaysvt.com.

“One could write a book about why shopping local is so important.

When you shop at one of our bookstores, the money keeps recirculating in the local economy, because our staff patronizes farmers markets, restaurants and many other local retailers. National shopping websites don’t employ any local people, nor do they give back to our vital nonprofit organizations.”

MICHAEL DESANTO OWNER, PHOENIX BOOKS

Take a break from the big guys and support local first.

Vermont merchants have faced mandatory store closures and other challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as some open back up, others operate online only.

All need your support.

WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM:

PICTURED: PHOENIX BOOKS, 191 BANK ST., BURLINGTON, PHOENIXBOOKS.BIZ (JAMES BUCK)

1T-Register062420.indd 1

Visit the Register for all the info on area shopkeepers who are selling their products online for local delivery or curbside pickup.

Browse by categories ranging from jewelry to electronics, outdoor gear to apparel.

Whether you need something for yourself or that perfect gift for a loved one, shop savvy and keep Vermont strong.

SHOP T HE R EGIS T E R .C OM SEVEN DAYS AUGUST 12-19, 2020

79

6/23/20 3:21 PM

Thato Ratsebe LIBERAL STUDIES, 2003 Assistant Director & Programs Manager Association for Africans Living in Vermont

• CCV offers 29 degree and certificate programs, apprenticeships, and industry-recognized credentials that lead to high-demand careers.

• 83% of our degree-seeking students work full- or part-time jobs. We understand the importance of affordable classes and flexible scheduling.

• We’ve been leaders in online education for more than 20 years, with a focus on small classes, engagement with faculty and peers, and personalized support.

FALL CLASSES START SEPTEMBER 8TH. APPLY TODAY! CCV.EDU/WORKS CCV is committed to non-discrimination in its learning and working environments for all persons. All educational and employment opportunities at CCV are offered without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. CCV is an equal opportunity employer. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

Thato_backcover.indd 1T-CCV081220 1 1

8/11/20 8/6/20 11:28 2:45 PM AM