‘Il Trittico’
Appointment
Eagles soar
Operatic performances prove to be powerful, hilarious and heartbreaking. See Arts+Leisure.
The Rev. Jill Colley Robinson got a promotion that will take her from her local pulpits. Page 10A.
Tiger teams scored the best at the D-II state meet, but Mount Abe took 3 golds. See Sports, Page 1B.
ADDISON COUNTY
Vol. 71 No. 23
INDEPENDENT Middlebury, Vermont
Thursday, June 8, 2017 52 Pages
Lincoln tackling invasives at the roots Community rallies for ‘Green Up’ style event on June 17 By GAEN MURPHREE LINCOLN — Last June, three volunteers drove every road in Lincoln on a mission to search and destroy. “We rode around every single road in Lincoln and pulled every single piece of wild chervil that we found,” said Lincoln Conservation Commission Chair Tina Scharf. “There’s not much here yet, but I had gone down to Rochester and I was so horrified by the chervil that I just said, ‘I’ve got to do something.’” This year, the conservation commission is turning “If we had its invasives a Green search-andUp Dayd e s t r o y style event mission into a townwide there’d be party. 20 or 30 On Saturday, people. June 17, the We’d get commission the whole is hosting the darn town first annual Lincoln X Out done in one Xotics Day, morning.” a Green Up— Tina Scharf style event to get the whole town involved in uprooting two green-stemmed troublemakers: poison parsnip and wild chervil. According to Vermont Invasives (a co-project of multiple state and nonprofit agencies), intrusive nonnative plant and animal species can harm the environment, the state’s economy, and even human health (thickets of invasive barberry, for example, encourage the ticks that carry Lyme disease; poison parsnip can cause a chemical burn when sap, skin and sunlight meet). And all types of invasives — from bugs to blooms — are becoming more of a problem as people and goods crisscross borders ever more frequently. Invasive species change and even destroy native ecosystems by: • Out-competing natives for resources.
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2017 Graduation Preview
Bristol teen finishes high school her way
Program provides an alternative route
By WILL DIGRAVIO degree programs that MIDDLEBURY — “I feel like I can give individuals who Hannah Gorton has never socialize better have faced barriers to a attended a traditional (after attending conventional education school. Nevertheless, the Vermont Adult the opportunity to Bristol 17-year-old will continue their studies Learning) … I soon have the credentials in a more intimate and she needs to pursue feel like VAL flexible environment. has helped higher education. According to Gorton, who was me be able to David Roberts, the homeschooled, will put myself out regional manager receive her GED on there more at who oversees the Thursday, June 8, at nonprofit’s Middlebury Vermont Adult Learning’s my job.” office, which serves 2017 graduation and — Hannah Gorton all of Addison County, achievement ceremony in such barriers may be the Kirk Alumni Center at Middlebury unanticipated health issues, family College (see story on Page 14A). commitments, or work obligations. Vermont Adult Learning, or “Some people think our students VAL, offers a variety of courses and (See Gorton, Page 14A)
Peterson selected for career center vacancy By JOHN FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY — Longtime Woodstock Union Middle School Principal Dana Peterson has tentatively agreed to a twoyear contract to serve as interim superintendent of the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center. His interim status could evolve into
a permanent gig, according to Jason Larocque, chairman of the PHCC board that on June 1 selected Peterson from among three candidates vying for a position that Lynn Coale has held for the past 15 years. “While I’m sad to see Lynn go, I’m excited to see where we’re headed in (See Career Center, Page 12A)
Middlebury survey: Views on business climate vary
LINCOLN CONSERVATION COMMISSION Chair Tina Scharf kneels next to young poison parsnip plants in Lincoln. When full grown, the plants will shoot up to around four feet. The conservation commission is hosting its first annual X Out Xotics day on June 17, to remove poison parsnip along roads in Lincoln. Independent photo/Trent Campbell
• Carrying diseases. • Disrupting native species’ reproduction. COSTS TO NATURE/SOCIETY For biologists, what’s most
concerning about invasives is their threat to diversity, Scharf said. (Scharf stressed that though she is a professional consulting wildlife biologist, she is not a professional
plant specialist). “Diversity is always better than not diversity because a diverse environment is more responsive to (See Invasives, Page 13A)
By JOHN FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Economic Health Task Force has been poring over the results of a recent community survey in anticipation of recommending a new town strategy for local business growth. The 11-member task force — made up of town officials and business leaders — began meeting in March in anticipation of delivering its recommendations to the selectboard by the end of this month. The selectboard formed the new panel after its decision to pull the plug on the Middlebury
Business Development Fund (MBDF). Spearheaded by Jamie Gaucher, the MBDF was a multi-year effort to recruit new businesses to town and help existing enterprises expand. But the selectboard decided to move on from the program this summer after it did not deliver the success that officials had anticipated. The Economic Health Task Force is looking to re-boot the town’s economic development efforts, and has been gathering feedback from citizens, entrepreneurs and municipal (See Middlebury, Page 12A)
Kids at heart of 117 years of classroom service
By the way Around 400 bicyclists and their friends and families are expected to come to Addison County for the July 1 Grand Fondo. But organizers of the peak-to-peak ride reminded us this week that they can’t pull the big event off without some volunteers. So please add your energy and your time to this worthwhile event; sign up for a duty, time, and place that suits your schedule. Sign up online here: https://tinyurl.com/ya9l2k3u. Then send this link to a friend you think might enjoy helping too. The riders have always been so grateful (See By the way, Page 13A)
Index Obituaries................................. 6A Classifieds.......................... 4B-8B Service Directory............... 6B-7B Entertainment.........Arts + Leisure Community Calendar......... 8A-9A Arts Calendar.........Arts + Leisure Sports................................. 1B-3B
Trio of Beeman teachers to retire
By GAEN MURPHREE NEW HAVEN — One hundred seventeen years of teacher power will say a fond goodbye when veterans Linda Kulhowvick, Margaret Benn and Arnell Paquette retire from Beeman Elementary School at the end of this school year. Beeman Principal Kristine Evarts said each has brought unique strengths to their decades of service to New Haven’s children. She has especially appreciated their depth of commitment to kids, their willingness to push boundaries and think outside the box, and the ways that each has leavened that depth of knowledge and experience with a distinctive brand of humor. “We’re really going to miss them,” Evarts said. LINDA KULHOWVICK In 1973, when Kulhowvick interviewed for the kindergarten job at Beeman, a concerned board member asked how long she intended to stay. Two previous kindergarten teachers had breezed through Beeman, leaving after one-year stints, so longevity was a concern. Forty-four years later Kulhowvick is still here, teaching kindergarten, in the same light-filled room, now chock full of nooks and crannies (See Beeman teachers, Page 2A)
THREE BEEMAN ELEMENTARY School teachers, Linda Kulhowvick, left, Arnell Paquette and Margaret Benn, who have a combined 117 years of teaching experience, are retiring at the end of the school year.
Independent photo/Trent Campbell